This week’s choice is “Elegy in a Country Churchyard” by G.K. Chesterton which I have chosen to mark the 80th anniversary of D Day.
But they that fought for England,
G.K. Chesterton (1874—1936)
Following a falling star,
Alas, alas for England
They have their graves afar.
Poem 324. Elegy in a Country Churchyard
The men that worked for England
They have their graves at home:
And bees and birds of England
About the cross can roam.
But they that fought for England,
Following a falling star,
Alas, alas for England
They have their graves afar.
And they that rule in England,
In stately conclave met,
Alas, alas for England,
They have no graves as yet.
This poem emphasises the contrast between the fortunate souls who remained in England and those who fought and died on England’s behalf and rather pointedly remarks on those who directed and pursued the war.
The first stanza describes those who remained behind working on the land or in the police force or other reserved occupations—their graves lie near their loved ones in familiar surroundings they would have known.
The second stanza speaks of those who died fighting for their country and were buried abroad, far from the places they knew and loved, in cemeteries of war graves or in the earth of the battlefields, and how sad that is for their own country.
The third stanza turns a penetrating eye on the politicians and generals who prosecuted and pursued the war and rather pointedly laments that “they have no graves as yet,” evidently regretting that while the flower of our youth lie buried abroad, those who bear responsibility have yet to face their judgment.
I like it because it paints a picture showing the bucolic life in the country, the horrors of conflict in another country and the contempt Chesterton seems to have felt for the governing class who kept their hands clean while their young men were being slaughtered. The poem speaks of England, but the words are equally applicable to any country and any time.
Chesterton had strong anti-Semitic views which nobody could condone but this poem simply argues that the experience of those who work for their country and those who fight for their country have radically different experiences than those who rule their country.
Links
- Listen to Joyce Tomlinson’s performance of the poem on YouTube.