Downhill I came, hungry, and yet not starved;
Cold, yet had heat within me that was proof
against the North wind; tired, yet so that rest
Had seemed the sweetest thing under a roof.

Then at the inn I had food, fire, and rest,
Knowing how hungry, cold, and tired was I.
All of the night was quite barred out except
An owl's cry, a most melancholy cry

Shaken out long and clear upon the hill,
No merry note, nor cause of merriment,
but one telling me plain what I escaped
and others could not, that night, as in I went.

And salted was my food, and my repose,
salted and sobered, too, by the bird's voice
Speaking for all who lay under the stars,
soldiers and poor, unable to rejoice.

− Edward Thomas

Philip Edward Thomas was born in London in 1878. His first book, The Woodland Life, is a collection of essays published in 1896 in 1914, he wrote his first poem, Up in the Wind. He enlisted in the army during World war I, and wrote more than 140 poems in a span of two years. His poems reflect his love for the countryside as well as his experiences in battle.

1. merriment: laughter, fun and enjoyment
2. repose: state of clam or comfortable rest
3. sobered; made one think carefully and seriously about things