Bent double, like old beggars under sacks,
Knock-kneed, coughing like hags, we cursed through sludge,
Till on the haunting flares we turned our backs
And towards our distant rest began to trudge.
Men marched asleep. Many had lost their boots
But limped on, blood-shod. All went lame; all blind;
Drunk with fatigue; deaf even to the hoots
Of tired, outstripped Five-Nines that dropped behind.
Gas! Gas! Quick, boys!---An ecstasy of fumbling,
Fitting the clumsy helmets just in time;
But someone still was yelling out and stumbling,
And flound'ring like a man in fire or lime...
Dim, through the misty panes and thick green light,
As under a green sea, I saw him drowning.
In all my dreams, before my helpless sight,
He plunges at me, guttering, choking, drowning.
If in some smothering dreams you too could pace
Behind the wagon that we flung him in,
And watch the white eyes writhing in his face,
His hanging face, like a devil's sick of sin;
If you could hear, at every jolt, the blood
Come gargling from the froth-corrupted lungs,
Obscene as cancer, bitter as the cud
Of vile, incurable sores on innocent tongues,---
My friend, you would not tell with such high zest
To children ardent for some desperate glory,
The old Lie: Dulce et decorum est
Knock-kneed, coughing like hags, we cursed through sludge,
Till on the haunting flares we turned our backs
And towards our distant rest began to trudge.
Men marched asleep. Many had lost their boots
But limped on, blood-shod. All went lame; all blind;
Drunk with fatigue; deaf even to the hoots
Of tired, outstripped Five-Nines that dropped behind.
Gas! Gas! Quick, boys!---An ecstasy of fumbling,
Fitting the clumsy helmets just in time;
But someone still was yelling out and stumbling,
And flound'ring like a man in fire or lime...
Dim, through the misty panes and thick green light,
As under a green sea, I saw him drowning.
In all my dreams, before my helpless sight,
He plunges at me, guttering, choking, drowning.
If in some smothering dreams you too could pace
Behind the wagon that we flung him in,
And watch the white eyes writhing in his face,
His hanging face, like a devil's sick of sin;
If you could hear, at every jolt, the blood
Come gargling from the froth-corrupted lungs,
Obscene as cancer, bitter as the cud
Of vile, incurable sores on innocent tongues,---
My friend, you would not tell with such high zest
To children ardent for some desperate glory,
The old Lie: Dulce et decorum est
Pro patria mori.
(Poesia su un attacco col gas)
Piegati in due, come vecchi accattoni sotto sacchi,
con le ginocchia che si toccavano, tossendo come streghe, bestemmiavamo nel fango,
fin davanti ai bagliori spaventosi, dove ci voltavamo
e cominciavamo a trascinarci verso il nostro lontano riposo.
Uomini marciavano addormentati. Molti avevano perso i loro stivali
ma avanzavano con fatica, calzati di sangue. Tutti andavano avanti zoppi; tutti ciechi;
ubriachi di fatica; sordi anche ai sibili
di granate stanche, distanziate, che cadevano dietro.
Gas! Gas! Veloci, ragazzi! – Un brancolare frenetico,
mettendosi i goffi elmetti appena in tempo;
ma qualcuno stava ancora gridando e inciampando,
e dimenandosi come un uomo nel fuoco o nella calce…
Pallido, attraverso i vetri appannati delle maschere e la torbida luce verde,
come sotto un mare verde, l’ho visto affogare.
In tutti i miei sogni, prima che la mia vista diventasse debole,
si precipita verso di me, barcollando, soffocando, annegando.
Se in qualche affannoso sogno anche tu potessi marciare
dietro al vagone in cui lo gettammo,
e guardare gli occhi bianchi contorcersi nel suo volto,
il suo volto abbassato, come un diavolo stanco di peccare;
se tu potessi sentire, ad ogni sobbalzo, il sangue
che arriva come un gargarismo dai polmoni rosi dal gas,
ripugnante come un cancro, amaro come il bolo
di spregevoli, incurabili piaghe su lingue innocenti, –
amica mia, tu non diresti con tale profondo entusiasmo
ai figli desiderosi di una qualche disperata gloria,
la vecchia Bugia: Dulce et decorum est
pro patria mori
Wilfred Owen
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