Bill
At Modder, where I met 'im fust,I thought as 'ow ole Bill was dead;A splinter, from a shell wot bust,'Ad fetched 'im somewheres in the 'ead;But there! It takes a deal to killThem thick-thatched sort o' blokes like Bill.
In the field-'orspital, nex' day,The doctors was a-makin' outThe 'casualty returns,' an' theyComes up an' pulls ole Bill about;Ole Colonel Wilks, 'e turns to me,'Report this "dangerous,"' sez 'e.
But Bill, 'oo must 'ave 'eard it too,'E calls the doctor, quick as thought:'I'd take it kindly, sir, if you'Could keep me out o' the report.'For tho' I'm 'it, an' 'it severe,'I doesn't want my friends to 'ear.
'I've a ole mother, 'way in Kent,''Oo thinks the very world o' me;'I'd thank you if I wasn't sent'As "wounded dangerous,"' sez 'e;'For if she 'ears I'm badly hit,'I lay she won't get over it.
'At Landman's Drift she lost a lad'(With the 18th 'Ussars 'e fell),'Poor soul, she'd take it mighty bad'To think o' losin' me as well;'So please, sir, if it's hall the same,'I'd ask you not to send my name.'
The Colonel bloke 'e thinks a bit,'Oh, well,' sez 'e, 'per'aps you're right.'And, now I come to look at it,'I'll send you in as "scalp-wound, slight."'O' course it's wrong of me, but still--''Gawd bless you, sir, an' thanks!' sez Bill.
'E didn't die; 'e scrambled through.They hoperated on 'is 'ead,An' Gawd knows wot they didn't do,--'Tripoded' 'im, I think they said.I see'd 'im, Toosday, in Pall Mall,Nor never knowed 'im look so well.
Yes, Bill 'e's going strong just now,In London, an' employed again;Tho' it's a fact, 'e sez, as 'owThe doctors took out 'alf 'is brain!Ho well, 'e won't 'ave need o' this--'E's working at the War Office.
Words in this poem
- fust v. i.
- To become moldy; to smell ill.
- thank n.
- A expression of gratitude; an acknowledgment expressive of a sense of favor or kindness received; obligation, claim, or desert, or gratitude; -- now generally used in the plural. [AS. Þanc, Þonc, thanks, favor, thought; akin to OS. thank favor, pleasure, thanks, D. & G. dank thanks, Icel. Þ\'94kk, Dan. tak, Sw. tack, Goth. Þagks thanks; -]
- mall n.
- A large heavy wooden beetle; a mallet for driving anything with force; a maul. [OE. malle, F. mail, L. malleus. Cf. Malleus.]
Definitions and etymologies from Webster's Unabridged Dictionary, 1913.
About this text
Bill is in the public domain. This text is taken from Verse and Worse, Project Gutenberg ebook #36702; the transcription's header, footer and licence were removed and nothing else was changed. You may copy, print and reuse it freely.
Cite as: Harry Graham, Bill, in Verse and Worse (1905), text of Project Gutenberg ebook #36702, Laurel, https://laurelpoetry.com/poem/graham-verse-and-worse/bill.html, id L23343.
Form and metre
Bill is 48 lines in 8 stanzas of 6 lines each. The rhyme scheme is ABABCC, complete in 6 of its 8 stanzas. The metre is iambic tetrameter, measured from the stress the words themselves fix (confidence 83%).
See other poems in iambic tetrameter.
Measured by Laurel's pipeline, not copied from a handbook: how stress and metre are counted, how rhyme is lettered, how a drifted rhyme is found. Where the dictionary cannot confirm a rhyme the letter is withheld, not guessed.
Rhyme words, stanza by stanza
The word that ends each line, lettered by the rhyme it makes; a dash is a line whose rhyme the dictionary could not confirm.
- 1 ABABCC fustA · deadB · bustA · eadB · killC · billC
- 2 ABABCC dayA · outB · theyA · aboutB · meC · eC
- 3 A-A-BB tooA · thought · youA · report · severeB · earB
- 4 ABABCC kentA · meB · sentA · eB · hitC · itC
- 5 ABABCC ladA · fellB · badA · wellB · sameC · nameC
- 6 ABABCC bitA · rightB · itA · slightB · stillC · billC
- 7 ABAB-- throughA · eadB · doA · saidB · mall · well
- 8 ABABCC nowA · againB · owA · brainB · thisC · officeC
Scansion, line by line
Each line with its syllable count and the stresses the words themselves fix: / stressed, ˘ unstressed, · a syllable the word leaves free and the metre decides. Read against iambic tetrameter. How this is done.
| Line | Syl. | Stress |
|---|---|---|
| At Modder, where I met 'im fust, | 8 | ········ |
| I thought as 'ow ole Bill was dead; | 8 | ········ |
| A splinter, from a shell wot bust, | 8 | ·/˘····· |
| 'Ad fetched 'im somewheres in the 'ead; | 8 | ···/···· |
| But there! It takes a deal to kill | 8 | ········ |
| Them thick-thatched sort o' blokes like Bill. | 8 | ········ |
| In the field-'orspital, nex' day, | 8 | ········ |
| The doctors was a-makin' out | 8 | ·/˘··/˘· |
| The 'casualty returns,' an' they | 8 | ·/˘˘˘/·· |
| Comes up an' pulls ole Bill about; | 8 | ········ |
| Ole Colonel Wilks, 'e turns to me, | 8 | ·/˘····· |
| 'Report this "dangerous,"' sez 'e. | 8 | ˘/·/˘˘·· |
| But Bill, 'oo must 'ave 'eard it too, | 9 | ····/˘··· |
| 'E calls the doctor, quick as thought: | 8 | ···/˘··· |
| 'I'd take it kindly, sir, if you | 8 | ···/˘··· |
| 'Could keep me out o' the report. | 8 | ······˘/ |
| 'For tho' I'm 'it, an' 'it severe, | 8 | ······˘/ |
| 'I doesn't want my friends to 'ear. | 8 | ·/˘····· |
| 'I've a ole mother, 'way in Kent, | 8 | ···/˘··· |
| ''Oo thinks the very world o' me; | 8 | ···/˘··· |
| 'I'd thank you if I wasn't sent | 8 | ·····/˘· |
| 'As "wounded dangerous,"' sez 'e; | 8 | ·/˘/˘˘·· |
| 'For if she 'ears I'm badly hit, | 8 | ·····/˘· |
| 'I lay she won't get over it. | 8 | ········ |
| 'At Landman's Drift she lost a lad | 8 | ·/˘····· |
| '(With the 18th 'Ussars 'e fell), | 8 | ··//···· |
| 'Poor soul, she'd take it mighty bad | 8 | ·····/˘· |
| 'To think o' losin' me as well; | 8 | ········ |
| 'So please, sir, if it's hall the same, | 8 | ········ |
| 'I'd ask you not to send my name.' | 8 | ········ |
| The Colonel bloke 'e thinks a bit, | 8 | ·/˘····· |
| 'Oh, well,' sez 'e, 'per'aps you're right. | 8 | ········ |
| 'And, now I come to look at it, | 8 | ········ |
| 'I'll send you in as "scalp-wound, slight." | 8 | ········ |
| 'O' course it's wrong of me, but still--' | 9 | ········· |
| 'Gawd bless you, sir, an' thanks!' sez Bill. | 8 | ········ |
| 'E didn't die; 'e scrambled through. | 8 | ·/˘··/˘· |
| They hoperated on 'is 'ead, | 8 | ········ |
| An' Gawd knows wot they didn't do,-- | 8 | ·····/˘· |
| 'Tripoded' 'im, I think they said. | 8 | ········ |
| I see'd 'im, Toosday, in Pall Mall, | 8 | ········ |
| Nor never knowed 'im look so well. | 8 | ·/˘····· |
| Yes, Bill 'e's going strong just now, | 8 | ···/˘··· |
| In London, an' employed again; | 8 | ·/˘·˘/˘/ |
| Tho' it's a fact, 'e sez, as 'ow | 8 | ········ |
| The doctors took out 'alf 'is brain! | 8 | ·/˘····· |
| Ho well, 'e won't 'ave need o' this-- | 9 | ····/˘··· |
| 'E's working at the War Office. | 8 | ·/˘···/˘ |
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