I was near the King that day. I saw him snatch <br />And briskly scan the G.H.Q. dispatch. <br />Thick-voiced, he read it out. (His face was grave.) <br />‘This officer advanced with the first wave, <br /> <br />‘And when our first objective had been gained, <br />‘(Though wounded twice), reorganized the line: <br />‘The spirit of the troops was by his fine <br />‘Example most effectively sustained.’ <br /> <br />He gripped his beard; then closed his eyes and said, <br />‘Bathsheba must be warned that he is dead. <br />‘Send for her. I will be the first to tell <br />‘This wife how her heroic husband fell.’<br /><br />Siegfried Sassoon<br /><br />http://www.poemhunter.com/poem/devotion-to-duty/
