Armistice Day

[Slim]

I like to read this poem by Wilfred Owen each 11th November.


The Parable of the Old Man and the Young 

So Abram rose, and clave the wood, and went,
And took the fire with him, and a knife.
And as they sojourned both of them together,
Isaac the first-born spake and said, My Father,
Behold the preparations, fire and iron,
But where the lamb for this burnt-offering?
Then Abram bound the youth with belts and straps,
and builded parapets and trenches there,
And stretchèd forth the knife to slay his son.
When lo! an angel called him out of heaven,
Saying, Lay not thy hand upon the lad,
Neither do anything to him. Behold,
A ram, caught in a thicket by its horns;
Offer the Ram of Pride instead of him.

But the old man would not so, but slew his son,
And half the seed of Europe, one by one.

[The Picnic Wasp]

Strangely, I don't know this work. My English teacher for a couple of years at school had an obsession with Dulce et Decorum Est. I'm sure I could recite it in full back then, but the line "an ecstasy of fumbling" has stayed with me and pops into my thinking from time to time. I used this poem in numerous literature interpretation exams for which was the perfect provider of descriptive words. Very moving to listen to the modesty of John Hemingway, the last surviving Battle of Britain pilot, aged 104. Thank you, sir. We can only enjoy or complain about things thanks to you, and many others like you.

[David L]

I like to read this poem by Wilfred Owen each 11th November.


The Parable of the Old Man and the Young

So Abram rose, and clave the wood, and went,
And took the fire with him, and a knife.
And as they sojourned both of them together,
Isaac the first-born spake and said, My Father,
Behold the preparations, fire and iron,
But where the lamb for this burnt-offering?
Then Abram bound the youth with belts and straps,
and builded parapets and trenches there,
And stretchèd forth the knife to slay his son.
When lo! an angel called him out of heaven,
Saying, Lay not thy hand upon the lad,
Neither do anything to him. Behold,
A ram, caught in a thicket by its horns;
Offer the Ram of Pride instead of him.

But the old man would not so, but slew his son,
And half the seed of Europe, one by one.

Doesn't even rhyme

[Thenop]

The stupidity of mankind knows no boundaries.

[dom]

The stupidity of mankind knows no boundaries.

Not a great attempt at a joke by David I agree, but that's a little strong!

[Thenop]

The stupidity of mankind knows no boundaries.

Not a great attempt at a joke by David I agree, but that's a little strong!

I would never argue with David.
I like the poem though.