Robert Nichols
In the raftered barn we lie,
Sprawl, scrawl postcards, laugh and speak—
Just mere men a trifle weary,
Worn in heart, a trifle weak:
Because alway
At close of day
Thought steals to England far away….
“Alf!” “O ay.”
“Gi’ us a tune, mate.” “Well, wot say?”
“Swipe ‘The Policeman’s ‘Oliday’….”
“Tiddle-iddle-um-tum,
Tum-tum.”
Sprawling on my aching back,
Think I nought; but I am glad—
Dear, rare lads of pick and pack!
Aie me too! I’m sad…. I’m sad:
Some must die
(Maybe I):
O pray it take them suddenly!
“Bill!” “Wot ho!”
“Concertina: let it go—
‘If you were the Only Girl.'” “Cheero!”
“If you were the Only Girl.”
Damn. ‘Abide with Me….’ Not now!—
Well … if you must: just your way.
It racks me till the tears nigh flow.
The tune see-saws. I turn, I pray
Behind my hand,
Shaken, unmanned,
In groans that God may understand:
Miracle!
“Let, let them all survive this hell.”
Hear ‘Trumpeter, what are you sounding?’ swell.
(My God! I guess indeed too well:
The broken heart, eyes front, proud knell!)
Grant but mine sound with their farewell.
“It’s the Last Post I’m sounding.”
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Analysis (AI Assisted)
This poem captures the raw, unrefined emotions of soldiers caught in the liminal space between moments of camaraderie and the heavy weight of war’s inevitable tragedies. In the raftered barn, the soldiers appear to momentarily escape the burdens of war. Their simple, almost childlike interactions—laughter, singing, and joking—provide a stark contrast to the internal conflict and sorrow that simultaneously brews within them. The seemingly carefree exchanges about tunes and postcards mask the underlying grief that these men carry with them.
The opening lines set the stage for this tension. The soldiers, “just mere men a trifle weary,” are depicted as human beings first—tired, perhaps physically weak, but still capable of finding joy in small things. Yet, the constant intrusion of thoughts about “England far away” serves as a reminder that they are far from home, removed from the security and peace they once knew. This internal battle between brief moments of joy and the weight of an uncertain future permeates the rest of the poem.
The conversation about tunes and songs reveals the soldiers’ need for distraction, a way to cope with the horrors around them. The mention of the song “The Policeman’s ‘Oliday'” and the transition to “If you were the Only Girl” offer a sense of familiarity and normality, even if it’s fleeting. It’s a way for them to reclaim some semblance of their past lives, to cling to the remnants of comfort they once took for granted. But as the song shifts to “Abide with Me,” the mood darkens. The mention of the hymn, often associated with mourning and death, signals a rupture in the soldiers’ fragile peace, and the speaker’s reaction underscores the overwhelming sadness that cannot be shaken off.
The moment when the speaker prays “Behind my hand” reflects an internal struggle to maintain composure, even as the emotional toll of war becomes overwhelming. The soldiers’ outward bravado crumbles as they are faced with the undeniable reality of their mortality. The prayer becomes desperate: “Miracle! Let, let them all survive this hell.” In the midst of their shared suffering, they still cling to a shred of hope that they might be spared, or at least that those around them might make it out alive.
The closing lines carry a haunting weight, especially the final words: “It’s the Last Post I’m sounding.” The Last Post, often played at military funerals, symbolizes death. Here, it signals not just the end of a day or a duty, but the finality of life. It is a reminder that, despite the fleeting moments of connection and joy, the reality of war is death, and no one can escape that fate forever. The broken heart, the proud knell, encapsulate the despair that can never truly be buried, no matter how hard the soldiers try to distract themselves with songs or laughter.
This poem’s strength lies in its ability to juxtapose the light-hearted and the sorrowful, blending the mundane with the profoundly tragic. The use of song and prayer as emotional relief gives the poem depth, as the soldiers’ humanity is laid bare—trapped between a desire to live and the certainty that death is always close by. Through their struggle to hold on to fleeting moments of joy, the poem poignantly captures the complexity of life in wartime, where every laugh or song might be the last. The sound of the Last Post at the end leaves the reader with a resonating silence, a grim reminder of the ultimate cost of war.