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Trench Duty

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Shaken from sleep, and numbed and scarce awake,     Out in the trench with three hours' watch to take,     I blunder through the splashing mirk; and then     Hear the gruff muttering voices of the men     Crouching in cabins candle-chinked with light.     Hark! There's the big bombardment on our right     Rumbling and bumping; and the dark's a glare     Of flickering horror in the sectors where     We raid the Boche; men waiting, stiff and chilled,     Or crawling on their bellies through the wire.     "What? Stretcher-bearers wanted? Some one killed?"     Five minutes ago I heard a sniper fire:     Why did he do it? ... Starlight overhead -     Blank stars. I'm wide-awake; and some chap's dead.

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"Shaken from sleep, and numbed and scarce awake,..."

"Trench Duty" is a quintessential example of Siegfried Loraine Sassoon's signature style... ### Why We Love This Line At Linespedia, we believe that poetry is the ultimate sanctuary for the soul...

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"(GREAT WAR)     Squire nagged and bullied till I ..."

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