Ivor Gurney
It seemed that it were well to kiss first earth
On landing, having traversed the narrow seas,
And grasp so little, tenderly, of this field of birth.
Prance having trodden and lain on, travelled bending the knees.
And having shed blood — known heart for Her and last nerve freeze,
Proved body past heart, and soul past (so we thought) any worth
For what so dear a thing as the first homecoming,
The seeing smoke pillar aloft from the home dwellings;
Sign of travel ended, lifted awhile the dooming
Sentence of exile; homecoming, right of tale-tellings,
But mud is on our fate after so long acquaintance,
We find of England the first gate without Romance;
Blue paved wharfs with dock-policemen and civic decency,
Trains and restrictions, order and politeness and directions,
Motion by black and white, guided ever about ways
And staleness with petrol-dust distinguishing days.
A grim faced black-garbed mother efficient and busy
Set upon housework, worn-minded and fantasy free —
A work-house matron, forgetting Her old birth friend – the Sea.
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Analysis (AI Assisted)
This war poem explores the disillusionment and emotional turmoil of returning home after a long, grueling experience in battle. The speaker begins with an idealized notion of what it means to come back to England after the horrors of war—there is the image of “kissing first earth” as though returning to a sacred place, having crossed “the narrow seas.” The speaker hopes for a powerful, sentimental return to “homecoming,” symbolized by the sight of smoke rising from the “home dwellings” as a sign that their journey has ended.
But as the poem continues, the speaker’s idealized view of home is shattered. There is no romance in the “first gate” of England. Instead, the return is marked by a feeling of cold efficiency: “blue paved wharfs with dock-policemen and civic decency,” mundane and soulless elements of modern life that stand in stark contrast to the vivid memories of the frontlines. The speaker’s arrival is not met with joy or warmth but with the “staleness with petrol-dust” of post-war industrial life. The bustling, mechanical rhythms of civilian society feel out of sync with the trauma and sacrifice the speaker has experienced.
The mother figure at the end of the poem serves as a potent symbol of this disconnection. Described as “grim faced” and “efficient and busy,” she represents the domestic, functional side of society that has continued while the speaker was away in war. She is “worn-minded and fantasy free,” disconnected from the emotional reverie of her son’s return. The poem ends with the poignant image of the mother—once the “old birth friend” of the Sea (perhaps symbolizing the world of adventure, youth, and freedom)—now a “work-house matron” who has forgotten her past connection to the broader world.
The overall tone is one of profound alienation, highlighting the sense of estrangement that soldiers often feel when returning home after experiencing war. They find themselves adrift in a society that seems to have moved on without them, filled with routines and structures that feel empty compared to the intense, raw reality of the war experience. The speaker’s journey from hope to disillusionment is mirrored in the contrast between the romanticized idea of homecoming and the stark reality they encounter.
In terms of structure, the poem is fluid, almost fragmented in its expression, mirroring the speaker’s emotional and mental state. The use of imagery—such as the “blue paved wharfs,” the “dock-policemen,” and the “grim-faced mother”—reinforces the sense of discomfort and detachment. The poem closes on a sorrowful note, where the speaker’s return feels less like a triumph and more like an unceremonious return to a life they no longer fit into, symbolized in the image of the mother forgetting “Her old birth friend—the Sea.”
This poem effectively captures the disillusionment that follows a soldier’s return from war, conveying how the passage of time and the shift to ordinary life can sever the bond between the individual and the world they once knew, leaving them feeling lost and disconnected.