posted on 2024-04-19, 17:45authored byFirst World War Poetry Digital Archive Project Team
<p dir="ltr"> In twos and threes, they have not far to roam,<br> Crowds that thread eastward, gay of eyes;<br> Those seek no further than their quiet home,<br> Wives, walking westward, slow and wise.<br> Neither should I go fooling over clouds,<br> Following gleams unsafe, untrue,<br> And tiring after beauty through star-crowds,<br> Dared I go side by side with you;<br> Or be you in the gutter where you stand,<br> Pale rain-flawed phantom of the place,<br> With news of all the nations in your hand,<br> And all their sorrows in your face.</p>
The Estate of Wilfred Owen. The Complete Poems and Fragments of Wilfred Owen edited by Jon Stallworthy first published by Chatto & Windus, 1983. Preliminaries, introductory, editorial matter, manuscripts and fragments omitted.