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[Valknor]

The Charge of the Light Brigade is one of my favorite poems. It was written by Alfred, Lord Tennyson in the aftermath of the Battle of Balaclava. About 670 cavalrymen participated in the charge. The British War Office reported approximately 110 men where killed, 161 wounded, 60 taken prisoner, and 375 horses lost...


Charge of the Light Brigade by Richard Caton Woodville Jr.

Half a league, half a league,
Half a league onward,
All in the valley of Death
Rode the six hundred.
“Forward, the Light Brigade!
Charge for the guns!” he said.
Into the valley of Death
Rode the six hundred.

“Forward, the Light Brigade!”
Was there a man dismayed?
Not though the soldier knew
Someone had blundered.
Theirs not to make reply,
Theirs not to reason why,
Theirs but to do and die.
Into the valley of Death
Rode the six hundred.

Cannon to right of them,
Cannon to left of them,
Cannon in front of them
Volleyed and thundered;
Stormed at with shot and shell,
Boldly they rode and well,
Into the jaws of Death,
Into the mouth of hell
Rode the six hundred.

Flashed all their sabres bare,
Flashed as they turned in air
Sabring the gunners there,
Charging an army, while
All the world wondered.
Plunged in the battery-smoke
Right through the line they broke;
Cossack and Russian
Reeled from the sabre stroke
Shattered and sundered.
Then they rode back, but not
Not the six hundred.

Cannon to right of them,
Cannon to left of them,
Cannon behind them
Volleyed and thundered;
Stormed at with shot and shell,
While horse and hero fell.
They that had fought so well
Came through the jaws of Death,
Back from the mouth of hell,
All that was left of them,
Left of six hundred.

When can their glory fade?
O the wild charge they made!
All the world wondered.
Honour the charge they made!
Honour the Light Brigade,
Noble six hundred!

What poem do you like?

[Valknor]

It was not part of their blood,
It came to them very late
With long arrears to make good,
When the Saxon began to hate.

They were not easily moved,
They were icy-willing to wait
Till every count should be proved,
Ere the Saxon began to hate.

Their voices were even and low,
Their eyes were level and straight.
There was neither sign nor show,
When the Saxon began to hate.

It was not preached to the crowd,
It was not taught by the State.
No man spoke it aloud,
When the Saxon began to hate.

It was not suddenly bred,
It will not swiftly abate,
Through the chill years ahead,
When Time shall count from the date
That the Saxon began to hate.

~ The Wrath of the Awakened Saxon.

This appears to be a modified version of Kipling's "The Beginnings", replacing the word English with Saxon. While the original is good, this modification makes the poem apply to a broader population. I like this version best.