I really dont understand this poem....help please!?

I would be great if you could break it down by stanza.





Siegfried Sasson (1886-1967)

"How to Die"

Dark clouds are smouldering into red

While down the craters morning burns.

The dying soldier shifts his head

To watch the glory that returns;

He lifts his fingers toward the skies

Where holy brightness breaks in flame;

Radiance reflected in his eyes,

And on his lips a whispered name.



You'd think, to hear some people talk,

That lads go West with sobs and curses,

And sullen faces white as chalk,

Hankering for wreaths and tombs and hearses.

But they've been taught the way to do it

Like Christian soldiers; not with haste

And shuddering groans; but passing through it

With due regard for decent taste.

I really dont understand this poem....help please!?
Don't scream, cry or call for your mother.



I think it was intended to sarcastically comment on the difference between the romantic view we often have of soldiers dying either quietly or heroically on the battlefield.



The reality is that they often die crying and pooping and begging for someone else to take their place.
Reply:The first part of the poem is describing a soldier who is dying while the sun is coming up. He looks up to see the sun rise and reaches his fingers toward that brightness (which is a symbol for reaching out to God/God's radiance). The last two lines of the poem show that he is dying with his eyes open - and the sun is reflected there on his glassy eyes and whispered final name.



The second part is a social comment on how people think young men go to war all upset and scared - worrying about dying. But they are taught by the higher ups to die with dignity. Sad poem.

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