We've billiards, bowls an' tennis courts, we've teas an' motor-rides;
We've concerts nearly every night, an' 'eaps o' things besides;
We've all the best of everything as much as we can eat —
But my 'eart — my 'eart's at 'ome in 'Enry Street.
I'm askin' Sister every day when I'll be fit to go;
'We must 'ave used you bad ' (she says) ' you want
to leave us so';
I says, 'I beg your pardon, Nurse, the place is 'ard to beat,
But my 'eart — my 'eart's at 'ome in 'Enry Street.'
The sheffoneer we saved 'to buy, the clock upon the wall,
The pictures an' the almanac, the china dogs an' all,
I've thought about it many a time, my little 'ome complete,
When in Flanders, far away from 'Enry Street.
It's 'elped me through the toughest times — an' some was middlin' tough —
The 'ardest march was not so 'ard, the roughest not so rough;
It's 'elped me keep my pecker up in victory an' defeat,
Just to think about my 'ome in 'Enry Street.
There's several things I'd like to 'ave which 'ere I never see,
I'd like some chipped potatoes an' a kipper to my tea;
But most of all I'd like to feel the stones beneath my feet.
Of the road that takes me 'ome to 'Enry Street.
They'll 'ave a little flag 'ung out — they'll 'ave the parlour gay
With crinkled paper all about, the same as Christmas Day,
An' out of all the neighbours' doors the 'eads'll pop to greet
Me comin' wounded 'ome to 'Enry Street.
My missis — well, she'll cry a bit, an' laugh a bit between;
My kids'll climb upon my knees — there's one I've never seen;
An' of all the days which I 'ave known there won't be one so sweet
As the one when I go 'ome to 'Enry Street.
Cicily Fox Smith
'The Convalescent' presents a more sincere image of the war through the eyes of an injured soldier. The day he returns home could be seen to be important as it's compared to Christmas Day, which is viewed widely by most people as an important day to be celebrated. Colloquial language such as when 'helped' is shortened to 'elped' could help to keep the tone more upbeat and gives the poem a more homely feel.
ReplyDelete'The Convalescent' conveys how the soldiers would dream about returning home from the hospital, as he creates a sense of hope as he also represents the other soldiers. The poem is written in a iambic heptameter as he continues to tell a story and reminisces on what activities/things he took for granted or the luxuries he's returning home too. This is portrayed with the sentence "we're billiards, bowls an' tennis courts, we've teas an' motor-rides"
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