A treasury of war poetry, British and American poems of the world war, 1914-1919/Valley of the Shadow

by John Galsworthy

For works with similar titles, see Valley of the Shadow.

VALLEY OF THE SHADOW

GOD, I am travelling out to death's sea,
I, who exulted in sunshine and laughter,
Thought not of dying death—is such waste of me!
Grant me one comfort: Leave not the hereafter
Of mankind to war, as though I had died not—
I, who in battle, my comrade's arm linking,
Shouted and sang—life in my pulses hot
Throbbing and dancing! Let not my sinking
In dark be for naught, my death a vain thing!
God, let me know it the end of man's fever!
Make my last breath a bugle call, carrying
Peace o'er the valleys and cold hills, for ever!

John Galsworthy

[From A Sheaf. Copyright, 1916, by Charles Scribner's Sons.]