Returning from the Ypres front,
A Tommy was in slow recovery,
From frostbite and pneumonia -
He found himself in Paris, to stay
On Christmas Eve - to take
A walk down by the river Seine.
A cycle messenger, in employ,
Of a Telegraph correspondent -
In return from the Post Office,
Having dispatched that night's
Official news Communiqué -
He cycled by the river Seine.
A young lady, also stepped out
In the cold night - was walking
Over the Pont Royal - to look
Across the Seine's dark waters -
She had arrived there, in Paris
As a refugee from the North.
There were few people about -
In the distance figures moved,
Hurrying home or shelter - not
To linger - kept down their heads.
Another soldier that smoked,
Took each stride with purpose.
These four figures converged,
Separately to a point - to link
In an act of rescue from despair.
The girl stared down with tears,
In her saddened eyes - learning
How her lover, an infantry soldier,
Had been killed at the front.
In the only clothes she had,
Her decision of fate was made,
She could not stand the loss.
So pulling herself to the edge,
Allowed herself to plunge down
Into the black water - to embrace
The numbing cold, to take her.
The Tommy passing close by,
Saw the action of the dark figure -
A girl, who he had seen to ignore
His shouts - So he ran, throwing
Off coat and cap and dived in
After her. The cyclist surprised,
Had stopped his bike - at haste,
He sped down to the bank -
At the same time as the other
Soldier ran to the rescuers aid.
On hitting the water, the shock
Knocked her breath quite away -
As she felt the sudden sinking
Of a bitter embrace - seconds
Became as eternity and she felt
Her senses dissolving forever,
In last moments to see her lover.
Her lover now came towards her,
His spirit swimming in cold waters -
And he reached out as silhouette,
To take hold of her in his darkness -
So she might drown in his embrace.
Then the shock of sudden breath,
Filled her again, as his hands held
Her - in flashes of light and black,
There were shouts and arms about
Her - once again in the cold air,
Wetness made her shiver with life -
Men’s faces but none was her lover.
By protest she raised her voice,
The cyclist interpreted her wish,
That she did not want to live.
‘Tell her mate, that, we all need
To – for as long as possible.’
The rescuer and rescued pulled,
To the bank sodden and entangled.
With their deed done, the girl was
Seen to safety, as the soldiers
Went on their way – this girl's
Gratitude was found as she came
To learn her lover was not dead -
Discovering him in a hospital bed.
The Poilu and girl, united in love,
Their purpose, to find the name
Of the stranger - saving her giving
The Seine an unnecessary grave -
for the Tommy who risking life,
Had made their lives worth living.
by Jamie Mann.
Anon.,1914. British Soldier's Pluck - A
Gallant Rescue. The Daily Telegraph, [online] 30 Dec. p.6. Col.2. Available at: http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/ww1-archive/11316452/Daily-Telegraph-December-30-1914.html [Accessed: 30 December August 2014].
Mann, J., 2014. 100 years Ago - Poems by Jamie Mann. [letter] (Personal
communication, 30 December 2014).
#WW1 #WW1centenary #GreatWar #WW1poem #GreatWar #ww1centenary
#worldwarone #worldwaroneremembered #WW1Paris
