The Dead Fox Hunter
THE DEAD FOX HUNTER by ROBERT GRAVES
*(In memory of Captain A. L. Samson, 2nd Battalion Royal
Welch Fusiliers, killed near Cuinchy, Sept. 25th, 1915)*
We found the little captain at the head;
His men lay well aligned.
We touched his hand---stone cold---and he was dead,
And they, all dead behind,
Had never reached their goal, but they died well;
They charged in line, and in the same line fell.
The well-known rosy colours of his face
Were almost lost in grey.
We saw that, dying and in hopeless case,
For others' sake that day
He'd smothered all rebellious groans: in death
His fingers were tight clenched between his teeth.
For those who live uprightly and die true
Heaven has no bars or locks,
And serves all taste...or what's for him to do
Up there, but hunt the fox?
Angelic choirs? No, Justice must provide
For one who rode straight and in hunting died.
So if Heaven had no Hunt before he came,
Why, it must find one now:
If any shirk and doubt they know the game,
There's one to teach them how:
And the whole host of Seraphim complete
Must jog in scarlet to his opening Meet.
| Title |
The Dead Fox Hunter
|
|---|---|
| Author |
Graves, Robert (1895-1985)
|
| Item date |
(1995, 1997, 1999)
|
| Content | |
| Copyright |
The Robert Graves Copyright Trust
|
| Digital repository | |
| Repository name |
ProQuest
|
| Repository address URL | |
| First line |
We found the little captain at the head;
|
| Publication source |
Robert Graves Complete Poems: Volumes 1 - 3
|
| Publication editor |
Graves, Beryl and Ward, Dunstan
|
| Publishers |
Carcanet
|
| Publication place |
Manchester
|
Collection
Citation
“The Dead Fox Hunter,” by Graves, Robert (1895-1985). The Robert Graves Copyright Trust via First World War Poetry Digital Archive, accessed May 7, 2024, http://ww1lit.nsms.ox.ac.uk/ww1lit/collections/item/3399.
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
