Going Over ~ By Canadian Poet Sir Charles G. D. Roberts

GOING OVER
By Sir Charles G. D. Roberts
A girl's voice in the night troubled my heart.
Across the roar of the guns, the crash of the shells,
Low and soft as a sigh, clearly I heard it.
Where was the broken parapet, crumbling about me?
Where my shadowy comrades, crouching expectant?
A girl's voice in the dark troubled my heart.
A dream was the ooze of the trench, the wet clay slipping,
A dream the sudden out-flare of the wide-flung Verys.
I saw but a garden of lilacs, a-flower in the dusk.
What was the sergeant saying?-I passed it along.-
Did I pass it along? I was breathing the breath of the lilacs.
For a girl's voice in the night troubled my heart.
Over! How the mud clings! Vomits red the barrage.
But I am far off in the hush of a garden of lilacs.
For a girl's voice in the night troubled my heart.
Tender and soft as a sigh, clearly I heard it.
Private William Woodward: Killed On August 8th, 1918
My Great Grand-Uncle William Woodward was killed in the first attacks on the morning of August 8th, 1918. He was stationed on the front lines around Domart-sur-la-luce in the Picardy region, southwest of Amiens. He was a member the Royal Canadian Regiment and is one of two known Royal Canadians to be buried a small cemetery southwest of Amiens.
William was born on September 4, 1891 and grew up in the small farming town of Aetna in Southern Alberta, the son of Hyrum and Mary Woodward. By my reckoning that would make him 26 years old when he died, just a month short of his 27th birthday, although his grave says he was only 24. I found his enlistment record which says he enlisted on February 4, 1915. He was 5’10 1/2” tall, with grey eyes and light brown hair. He had previously been in the Southern Alberta Militia. I suppose we would have survived several years on the front before being killed at Amiens.
His mother Mary had these fairly patriotic words written on his grave: “Born in the Last & Blest Great West of America, Died in Honour Defending God’s Truth & Justice.” I believe this is a reference to the famous slogan of Western Canada being the “Last Best West” of North America during the early days of settlement. William was Mary’s oldest son. His name appears on the Cenotaph in Cardston, Alberta and his name can also be found the the Books of Remembrance in Ottawa.
#poem #poetry #canadian #canadianhistory #wwi #worldwarone

[@harmoniousnaturetherapy10]

Wow Kyle your voice on the poems makes the words come alive! This is so beautiful & yet so sad too! ♥️

[@thekeytothegate]

My grandfather on my mother’s side last name was Wood.

[@KyleEricksonPoetry1617]

Oh ya, was he in the war? I just looked at the end of the video and I see there is a typo 🤦‍♂️. I swore I double checked it, lol. Anyway, It’s supposed to be Woodward. My Woodwards came from England. Wood and Woodward, good old English names.

[@theendofeverything6356]

Another gem, Kyle. Beautifully presented. I'll share on my Twitter account.

[@KyleEricksonPoetry1617]

Oh thank you very much 🙏. Yes a beautiful little poem. Glad I found it.

[@RedEnsign999]

Who is the soldier in this video?(이 동영상속에 나온 군인은 누구입니까?)

[@KyleEricksonPoetry1617]

@@RedEnsign999 I think just an imaginary soldier, but the poem made me think of my Great Grand-uncle who was killed in WWI. Sir Charles Roberts is one of my favourite poets.

[@RedEnsign999]

@@KyleEricksonPoetry1617If I heard somewhere, the flower language of lilac is first love, memories of youth, and friendship. Lilac has different meanings depending on the color of the flower. It is said that each color has a different meaning, with purple meaning the sprouting of love, red meaning a friend's love, and white meaning a beautiful oath.(제가 어디선가 들어보면 라일락의 꽃말중에는 첫사랑, 젊은 날의 추억, 우정이란 꽃말을 가지고 있습니다. 라일락은 꽃 색깔에 따라 의미하는 꽃말도 다르답니다. 보라색 경우 사랑의 싹이 트다, 붉은색은 친구의 사랑, 흰색은 아름다운 맹세라는 뜻으로 색깔별로 각각 다른 뜻을 갖고 있다고 합니다.)

[@KyleEricksonPoetry1617]

⁠@@RedEnsign999 Lilacs are beautiful flowers, one of my favourites. I like your meanings. Are those in Korean Tradition? I’ve read that in Irish and British folklore the Lilac represents sleep or death, which also fits with the video I think.

[@RedEnsign999]

@@KyleEricksonPoetry1617 In Korea, it means friendship. And it is a little different from what grows in Europe. Just like there are different types of ferns.(한국에서는 우애를 뜻합니다. 그리고 유럽지역에서 자라는것과는 조금 차이가 있습니다. 고사리같이 종류가 다르듯이 말입니다.)