Picture Show (Sassoon collection)/Memorial Tablet

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139141Picture Show — Memorial Tablet (Great War)Siegfried Sassoon

MEMORIAL TABLET

(Great War)

Squire nagged and bullied till I went to fight,
(Under Lord Derby's scheme). I died in hell—
(They called it Passchendaele). My wound was slight,
And I was hobbling back; and then a shell
Burst slick upon the duckboards: so I fell
Into the bottomless mud, and lost the light.

At sermon-time, while Squire is in his pew,
He gives my gilded name a thoughtful stare;
For, though low down upon the list, I'm there;
'In proud and glorious memory'. . .that's my due.
Two bleeding years I fought in France, for Squire:
I suffered anguish that he's never guessed.
Once I came home on leave: and then went west. . .
What greater glory could a man desire?