The Last Laugh
THE LAST LAUGH by WILFRED OWEN
'Oh! Jesus Christ! I'm hit,' he said; and died. Whether he vainly cursed or prayed indeed, The Bullets chirped---In vain, vain, vain! Machine-guns chuckled---Tut-tut! Tut-tut! And the Big Gun guffawed.
Another sighed---'O Mother,---Mother,---Dad!' Then smiled at nothing, childlike, being dead. And the lofty Shrapnel-cloud Leisurely gestured,---Fool! And the splinters spat, and tittered.
'My Love!' one moaned. Love-languid seemed his mood, Till slowly lowered, his whole face kissed the mud. And the Bayonets' long teeth grinned; Rabbles of Shells hooted and groaned; And the Gas hissed.
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| Author | Owen, Wilfred (1893-1918) |
|---|---|
| Title | The Last Laugh |
| Item Date | 1983 |
| File type | Text |
| Content | Poem |
| Repository name | ProQuest |
| Repository URL | http://lion.chawyck.co.uk |
| Copyright | The Estate of Wilfred Owen. The Complete Poems and Fragments of Wilfred Owen edited by Jon Stallworthy first published by Chatto Windus, 1983. Preliminaries, introductory, editorial matter, manuscripts and fragments omitted. |
| First line | Oh! Jesus Christ! I'm hit,' he said; and died. |
| Publication source | The Complete Poems and Fragments of Wilfred Owen |
| Publication editor | Stallworthy, Jon |
| Publishers | Chatto Windus |
| Publication place | London |
| Digital repository | The First World War Poetry Digital Archive |
| Reference URL | http://www.oucs.ox.ac.uk/ww1lit/collections/item/3318 |
