Frederic Manning
O ye! Fragile, tremulous
Haunters of the deep glades,
Whose fingers part the leaves
Of beech and aspen ere ye slip thro’,
Shall I see ye again?
Men have said unto me:
These are but flying lights and shadows,
Light on the beech-boles, clouds shadowing the corn fields,
The wine in the flame of birches in autumn,
Wind shadowing the clear pools
But ye cried, laughing, down the wind:
Men are but shadows, but a vain breath!
So here cometh unto me
That cry from the rejoicing air:
Men are but shadows! And prone about me
I see them, hushed and sleeping in the hut,
Made solemn and holy by the night,
In the dead light o’ the moon:
Shadowy, swathed in their blankets,
As sleep, in hewn sepulchral caves,
Egypt’s and Asia’s kings.
While between them are the footsteps
Of glittering presences, who say: Lo, one
To be a sword upon my thigh!
And the sleepers stir restlessly and murmur
As between them pass
The bright-mailed choosers of the dead.
Shall I see ye again, O flying feet
O’ the forest-haunters, while I couch silent,
In a wet brake o’ blossom,
Dark ivy wreathing your whiteness;
Ere I am torn from the scabbard:
(Lo, one
To be a sword upon my thigh!)
Knowing no longer that earth
Lieth in the dews, shining and sacred?
© by owner. provided at no charge for educational purposes
Analysis (AI Assisted)
This war poem brings together the peaceful imagery of nature and the brutal, inescapable realities of war in a strikingly ethereal way. It opens with a question, addressing the “fragile, tremulous / Haunters of the deep glades,” a reference to the fleeting nature of life, symbolized by forest spirits or shadows that move in and out of sight. These figures seem to represent something elusive, delicate, and untouchable, creating a sense of fragility. The speaker asks whether they will ever encounter these “spirits” again, implying a sense of disconnection or loss due to the harshness of war.
The opening lines evoke a feeling of nostalgia for the natural world, where the forest’s peacefulness contrasts sharply with the violence of the war. There’s a certain melancholic beauty in the imagery of leaves parting as these spirits move, the trees whispering and yielding to their passage. This suggests an awareness of something more permanent than the fleetingness of human life—something eternal in nature that transcends the human experience.
As the poem progresses, the speaker reflects on the meaning of life and death in the face of war. They reference men who have said that “these are but flying lights and shadows,” dismissing the idea of the spirit world as fleeting and illusory. The poem makes the reader aware that the speaker is surrounded by death—“hushed and sleeping in the hut”—their comrades resting in the stillness of night, cloaked in blankets that resemble tombs. The comparison of soldiers’ slumber to the resting places of ancient kings, “Egypt’s and Asia’s kings,” is significant. It conjures the timelessness of death, the inevitability of it all. The soldiers, even in sleep, are paradoxically given the dignity of ancient rulers, yet it is a dignity derived from their final rest, not from their accomplishments in life.
The poem continues to explore the idea of death with unsettling clarity, as the “bright-mailed choosers of the dead” appear, passing through the camp in their “glittering” form. These figures are both real and spectral, evoking the constant presence of death in the lives of soldiers, who are aware at all times of the possibility of their own mortality. The “choosers of the dead” may be references to death itself, or to figures like angels or soldiers of fate, who move between the living and the dead, casting their gaze on each soldier and determining who will be taken next. This vision of death, a silent but powerful force moving among them, adds to the haunting atmosphere of the poem.
There’s a sense of foreboding in the repeated question, “Shall I see ye again?” The speaker seems caught between worlds—still yearning for the purity of the natural world, yet resigned to the reality of war. They ask if they will ever again see the spirits or the serene beauty of the forest, wondering if their innocence, represented by the peaceful images of nature, will be lost forever. This question underscores the disillusionment that comes with the experience of war, where the realities of life and death become so intertwined that the speaker’s understanding of the world is irrevocably altered.
The closing lines take on a particularly striking tone, suggesting that the speaker is about to be “torn from the scabbard,” as if the violence of war will soon rip away their connection to the peaceful world they long for. The metaphor of being a sword upon a thigh suggests readiness for battle, but it also symbolizes the soldier being an instrument of destruction, no longer tied to the earth, the dews, or the sacred natural world. It is a surrender to the violence and brutality of war, where the natural world seems distant and unreachable.
Overall, the poem creates a haunting juxtaposition between the fleeting beauty of nature and the inescapable, destructive force of war. Through its rich imagery and spiritual musings, it suggests a deep conflict between the soldier’s yearning for peace and the grim reality of war, where death is ever-present and beauty is fleeting. The question, “Shall I see ye again?” hangs heavy, reflecting the soldier’s internal struggle to reconcile these two worlds. The poem paints a stark portrait of the soldier’s experience, caught between spiritual longing and the brutal forces of conflict, with no clear resolution.