I see them, stretched upon the burning sands,

Clutching the air with lacerated hands;

From underneath the mutilated heap,

The wounded, with great difficulty, creep;

Dragging a helpless arm, or shattered limb,

With reeling brain and sight confused and dim,

They grope, they crawl, or limp with painful tread;

Their uniforms no longer blue, but red;

And pinioned underneath the ghastly pile,

I hear them struggle for release the while;