An Irish Airman Foresees His Death


I know that I shall meet my fate
Somewhere among the clouds above;
Those that I fight I do not hate,
Those that I guard I do not love;
My country is Kiltartan Cross,

My countrymen Kiltartan's poor,

No likely end could bring them loss
Or leave them happier than before.
Nor law, nor duty bade me fight,
Nor public men, nor cheering crowds,
A lonely impulse of delight
Drove to this tumult in the clouds;
I balanced all, brought all to mind,
The years to come seemed waste of breath,
A waste of breath the years behind
In balance with this life, this death.

many interpretations said it was for Major Gregory, an irish aristocrat who fought the german forces in world war one, i don't care, i am not an irish young lady to interpret the whjole thing but i was concentrating on two lines which are:


Those that I fight I do not hate,
Those that I guard I do not love;

for one reason which is in war neither the enemy or the ally have anything to do with eachother, just dogs of war driven by an order to kill or a threat of being killed ......

some other reasons to fight is sounding heroic, it's still murder, in case of Major Gregory, it was delight .....

still another murder.

a massacre starts with a simple crime and grows to either make heros out of criminals or gods out of dogs of war .... how pathetic