John Renton Denning.
CCXI
SARANSAR
What are the bugles saying
With a strain so long and so loud?
They say that a soldier’s blanket
Is meet for a soldier’s shroud!
They say that their hill-tossed music,
Blown forth of the living breath,
Is full of the victor’s triumph
And sad with the wail of death!
Bugles of Talavera!
What are the bugles saying?
They tell of the falling night,
When a section of dog-tired English
Drew close for a rear-guard fight;
With an officer-boy to lead them,
A lost and an outflanked squad,
By the grace of a half-learned drill book,
And a prayer to the unseen God!
Bugles of Talavera!
What are the bugles saying
Of the stand that was heel to heel?
The click of the quick-pressed lever,
The glint of the naked steel,
The flame of the steady volley,
The hope that was almost gone,
As the leaping horde of the tribesmen
Swept as a tide sweeps on!
Bugles of Talavera!
What are the bugles saying?
They say that the teeth are set,
They say that the breath comes thicker,
And the blood-red Night is wet;
While the rough blunt speech of the English,
The burr of the shires afar,
Falls with a lone brave pathos
’Mid the hills of the Saransar!
Bugles of Talavera!
What are the bugles saying?
They say that the English there
Feel a breath from their island meadows
Like incense fill the air!
They say that they stood for a moment
With their dear ones by their side,
For their spirits swept to the Homeland
Before the English died!
Bugles of Talavera!
And aye are the bugles saying,
While the dust lies low i’ the dust,
The strength of a strong man’s fighting,
The crown of the soldier’s trust—
The wine of a full-brimmed battle,
The peace of the quiet grave,
And a wreath from the hands of glory
Are the guerdon of the brave!
Bugles of Talavera!
John Renton Denning.