Soldier poets of the Great War (VI): Encountering corpses in no-man’s land
Arthur Graeme West leads a small night patrol that encounters …half a dozen men All blown to bits, an archipelago Of corrupt fragments, vexing to us three. Even more horribly, Edgell Rickword grows comfortable with a corpse lying out in front of his position, and reads aloud to him — until the body rot grows ...
Arthur Graeme West leads a small night patrol that encounters
...half a dozen men
All blown to bits, an archipelago
Arthur Graeme West leads a small night patrol that encounters
…half a dozen men
All blown to bits, an archipelago
Of corrupt fragments, vexing to us three.
Even more horribly, Edgell Rickword grows comfortable with a corpse lying out in front of his position, and reads aloud to him — until the body rot grows too repulsive:
He stank so badly, though we were great chums
I had to leave him; then rats ate his thumbs.
More from Foreign Policy

Lessons for the Next War
Twelve experts weigh in on how to prevent, deter, and—if necessary—fight the next conflict.

It’s High Time to Prepare for Russia’s Collapse
Not planning for the possibility of disintegration betrays a dangerous lack of imagination.

Turkey Is Sending Cold War-Era Cluster Bombs to Ukraine
The artillery-fired cluster munitions could be lethal to Russian troops—and Ukrainian civilians.

Congrats, You’re a Member of Congress. Now Listen Up.
Some brief foreign-policy advice for the newest members of the U.S. legislature.