Suicide in the Trenches
Siegfried Sassoon, 1918
Siegfried Sassoon's poem about a simple, cheerful soldier boy broken by the trenches, and the cheering crowds at home.
I knew a simple soldier boyWho grinned at life in empty joy,Slept soundly through the lonesome dark,And whistled early with the lark.
In winter trenches, cowed and glum,With crumps and lice and lack of rum,He put a bullet through his brain.No one spoke of him again.* * * * *You snug-faced crowds with kindling eyeWho cheer when soldier lads march by,Sneak home and pray you’ll never knowThe hell where youth and laughter go.