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Grandeur of Ghosts

When I have heard small talk about great men  
I climb to bed; light my two candles; then
Consider what was said; and put aside
What Such—a—one remarked and Someone—else replied.
 
They have spoken lightly of my deathless friends,
(Lamps for my gloom, hands guiding where I stumble,)  
Quoting, for shallow conversational ends,
What Shelley shrilled, what Blake once wildly muttered ....
 
How can they use such names and be not humble?  
I have sat silent; angry at what they uttered.
The dead bequeathed them life; the dead have said  
What these can only memorize and mumble.
Other works by Siegfried Sassoon...



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