The Chances
THE CHANCES by WILFRED OWEN
I 'mind as how the night before that show
Us five got talkin'; we was in the know.
'Ah well,' says Jimmy, and he's seen some scrappin',
'There ain't no more than five things as can happen,---
You get knocked out; else wounded, bad or cushy;
Scuppered; or nowt except you're feelin' mushy.'
One of us got the knock-out, blown to chops;
One lad was hurt, like, losin' both his props;
And one---to use the word of hypocrites---
Had the misfortune to be took by Fritz.
Now me, I wasn't scratched, praise God Almighty,
Though next time please I'll thank Him for a blighty.
But poor old Jim, he's livin' and he's not;
He reckoned he'd five chances, and he had:
He's wounded, killed, and pris'ner, all the lot,
The flamin' lot all rolled in one. Jim's mad.
| Title |
The Chances
|
|---|---|
| Author |
Owen, Wilfred (1893-1918)
|
| Item date |
1983
|
| Content | |
| Copyright |
The Estate of Wilfred Owen. The Complete Poems and Fragments of Wilfred Owen edited by Jon Stallworthy first published by Chatto & Windus, 1983. Preliminaries, introductory, editorial matter, manuscripts and fragments omitted.
|
| Digital repository | |
| Repository name |
ProQuest
|
| Repository address URL | |
| First line |
I 'mind as how the night before that show
|
| Publication source |
The Complete Poems and Fragments of Wilfred Owen
|
| Publication editor |
Stallworthy, Jon
|
| Publishers |
Chatto & Windus
|
| Publication place |
London
|
Collection
Citation
“The Chances,” by Owen, Wilfred (1893-1918). The Estate of Wilfred Owen. The Complete Poems and Fragments of Wilfred Owen edited by Jon Stallworthy first published by Chatto & Windus, 1983. Preliminaries, introductory, editorial matter, manuscripts and fragments omitted. via First World War Poetry Digital Archive, accessed May 18, 2024, http://ww1lit.nsms.ox.ac.uk/ww1lit/collections/item/3353.
Permitted Use
This item is available for non-commercial educational use under the terms of the Jisc Model Licence. Further details available at: http://ww1lit.nsms.ox.ac.uk/ww1lit/permitteduse
