Alan Seeger was born in New York City on June 22, 1888. After joining the French Foreign Legion in 1914, Seeger was killed in action in northern France on July 4, 1916.
I have a rendezvous with Death
At some disputed barricade,
When Spring comes back with rustling shade
And apple-blossoms fill the air—
I have a rendezvous with Death
When Spring brings back blue days and fair.
It may be he shall take my hand
And lead me into his dark land
And close my eyes and quench my breath—
It may be I shall pass him still.
I have a rendezvous with Death
On some scarred slope of battered hill,
When Spring comes round again this year
And the first meadow-flowers appear.
God knows ‘twere better to be deep
Pillowed in silk and scented down,
Where love throbs out in blissful sleep,
Pulse nigh to pulse, and breath to breath,
Where hushed awakenings are dear…
But I’ve a rendezvous with Death
At midnight in some flaming town,
When Spring trips north again this year,
And I to my pledged word am true,
I shall not fail that rendezvous.
Wow. Are those his words? Prophetic. 😳
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Yes, incredibly sad!
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But beautifully descriptive. War is so senseless. 😕
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It most certainly is. Man’s inhumanity to man.
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We never seem to learn. 😕
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The very definition of insanity, right? Doing the same things over and over and expecting a different outcome.
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Exactly. And now with two loons leading two superpowers? Here we go again? 😠
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It is frightening, indeed. 😦
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These two, and throw North Korea’s loon in the mix too, are gonna let their egos and self-supposed superiority, cause a shit storm. Who’ll pay? Sure wont be these asshats. 😠
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Wow.
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Yes.
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Some great poetry came out of WW1. Wilfred Owen always leaves me gutted. Ivor Gurney was another good poet that I liked, from Gloucestershire, Severn and Somme.
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Yes, I have a collection called: Men Who March Away and both Owen and Gurney are featured. It’s oh so very sad… but such amazing writing.
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I count both of them among my favorite English Language poets.
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How terribly sad!
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It really is. 😦
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When I teach WWI, I spend a whole class day with “Rendezvous with Death”, “Flander’s Fields”, and “Dulce Et Decorum Est”. My students generally have a glorified view of war which the Greeks, Romans, Crusades, and Napoleonic Wars do nothing to ameliorate. The day always leaves a majority gutted. Hard, but needed.
Personally, I think we’d all live much better lives if we started each day reflecting on this poem.
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Jay, that is so true. I think the young men who entered this war may have had that same glorified view. They certainly walked away (if they made it) changed forever.
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One of my all-time favorite pieces. Thank you.
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It happened to be one of JFK’s favorites as well.
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Wow! That’s chilling!
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Very much so. He quoted it every now and then. I’ve always thought people had somewhat of sixth sense regarding their destiny.
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Thanks for sharing that Rita. I had no idea! And yes, I think you’re right about having a sense of your destiny.
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Thank you, for posting one of my favorite works.
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You are welcome. This is new to me, but I was really taken with it.
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It blows me away!
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Sad but true, #Death is around.
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We all have a rendezvous with death… eventually
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