War Erasure #4
Single Pass Erasure
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This is quite a famous poem by Rupert Brooke. It was written in late 1914 after England has entered WWI. He died at age 27 in 1915 from an infection from a mosquito bite. Just 19 days earlier, this poem was read at St. Pauls’s Cathedral in London. As far as I can tell, it was immensely popular and was used to bolster English support for the war.
There appears to me that there are at least three statues of Brooke. If you want your country to cast you in iron, write poetry. This of course can either mean a jail cell or a mold of a statue.
Brooke, the man Yeats described as “the handsomest young man in England,” is naive, idealistic, and patriotic. It would be easy for me to put him down. But I see much of my younger self in Brooke. After all, I too was that handsome once.
Had Brooke lived, would he have continued to write with such love of his country? Or would he had written more like Wilfred Owen? We will never know.
Coincidently, two days ago, Air Chief Marshal Knighton, the top military officer in the U.K., said this to the United Kingdom:
“Our response needs to go beyond simply strengthening our armed forces. It needs a whole of nation response that builds our defence industrial capacity, grows the skills we need, harnesses the power of the institutions we will need in wartime and ensures and increases the resilience of society and the infrastructure that supports it.”
He continued: “Sons and daughters. Colleagues. Veterans. …will all have a role to play.
“To build. To serve. And if necessary, to fight. And more families will know what sacrifice for our nation means.”
The military chief noted that it was 65 years ago this month since the last national service call-ups took place, and 80 years since the end of the Second World War.
More families will know what sacrifice means.
I’m not sure if that is a threat or a promise. But compare these words to that of Rupert Brooke’s. I think the U.K. could use a poet if they want to make their citizens feel patriotic about being called-up.
Perhaps someone will answer the call.
Just pose for your statue first.
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If you want your country to cast you in iron, write poetry. This of course can either mean a jail cell or a mold of a statue."
A lovely way of saying poets matter.
it's so effective when you present the erasure like that, the words you chose are bold. I think there is double meaning there. We all have a choice. You chose peace. We all should!