"I Have a Rendezvous With Death" by Alan Seeger

[PeanutGaming96]

"We all die, but very few really live." - William Wallace

[ernstbecker1]

Alan Seeger joined The French Foreign Legion during WW I. He, as other Ameicans, thought that they would fight for "the rights of man"; therefore, he attempted to enlist in the French Army. He had not luck. The French Foreign Legion accepted him. He height of over 6 feet was a tempting target. He was KIA during a frontal assault on a German position.

[mcolln]

I am a gamer, but I still enjoy poetry.

[adsoiderful]

This poem... Is really good. The last two lines makes me feel invincible. Nice poem. Cheers

[jurassicparkboy]

im a gamer and this poem is incredibly beautiful... but kinda sad since he is accepting death even though he loves life.... and i am thinking about saying this in the talent show whenever it comes around :)

[tallbenito]

I first hear this poem from the Gears of war trailer, but I definitely enjoy they full version more. For my humanities class we're supposed to pick a piece of art to research for a paper, and I'd love to use this, but I'm just not sure there's enough information out there about this one :(

[TheQwaz]

I favorited this vid because like many others i found it because of Gears 2. Figured their was a lot more to it than was in the trailer. Sounds like though he didn't want to die he certainly had resigned himself to his fate. Such was the reality of combat in WWI. RIP Alan Seeger.

[DrMadHobo]

This man... did not deserve that death...

[teichjeans]

alan seeger knew he was gonna die, back then that was the life of a soldier.

[teichjeans]

alan seeger knew he was gonna die, the life of a soldier i think.

[SpokenVerse]

@RATFather I just read 'em, that's my contribution. Anybody can make anything of it they please. Read the other comments.

[KINGKENNYTHEHOLY]

had this written down packed in my front ziplock pocket for 12 months in afghanistan..

[Halfway3]

@KINGKENNYTHEHOLY *military salute*

[Canucks56]

I actually first heard it in the gears of war tv spot, but during my school years, I came across it once again in a textbook. This could possibly be my favorite war poem.

[clydewell]

One of my fav poems ogf WW1

[RogueTKDSoulja176]

It is actually true with that one liner

"I have a rendevouz with death"

[norgulon]

Gears of war might have brought me here, but Seeger's poetry kept me here.

[Sepproth]

@norgulon This is a good comment, one of the few intellegent ones on Youtube. I respect that a lot.

[porterbehling]

I hope the French are happy with themselves. We lost a great American who volunteered to fight for the French.

May he, and all other Volunteers who joined up with France from America rest in peace.

[Darragh277]

@porterbehling You hope the French are happy with themselfs? I'm no more a fan some of the action taken by the French government during the first Wolrd War than the next guy, but you said, they were volunteers, not exactly like the French conscripted the Seegar or any other Amercian soldiers now is it? They were all brave men and died fighting for what they believed in, I just wouldn't go so far as to out the full weight of their deaths on "The French".

[pixelLibfront]

This poem is not about regret and sadness it is a about resolve and death, just google Alan Seeger, he was an American Poet who joined the French Foreign legion just so he could fight and Died cheering his comrades on. That was the death he was looking for. But as with all thing poetry is a matter of perspective and when I read it honestly pumps me up.

[BadOrc87]

As a rampant, if not willingly admitted addict, of video games I feel it unfortunately necessary to remind you not all of us are cut from the same cloth. I heard about this poem through the Gears of War trailer, I found it beautiful in its wording, and I did some research. Now that I know the proper history behind it, I am left even more affected than before.

So while I enjoy the horrendous violence a video game can bring, I can't help but fall dearly in love with poetic genius. Nice work, btw

[Troublesome2008]

Nice voice :).

[tommy3141]

thanks so much for posting this. I am so sick of the butchered and glorified version.

[c0rruptedbrain]

good reading mate

[melcina]

I grew up in a family which really appreciated well-recited poetry. We all learned from our grandmother and parents all of whom have had their rendezvous. IF they were still here, I would be calling them to tell them to be sure to listen to you. You have an exceptional voice and delivery for the kind of poetry I grew up with and I thank you for sharing!

[b33k3rz]

Well done...

[nickmaster141]

i have a Rendezvous With Death this is to be true in iraq there are many rendezvous with death over their

[yoshimak0]

my grandfather in ww2 said this

as he fought chinese and americans

this is how he died

but he didnt say the barricade

or batterd hill

[Phillip1220]

speechless

[DaZJM1991]

Amazing truly amazing...

[DrakarOgro]

This guy sounds like Johnny Cash. Awesome voice.

[sparuto117]

great poem....it is my fave poem and you have a great voice great job!!!!!!!!!!

[vinsong]

the gears one sounded like the guy who plays captain picard in star trek

[JaXNashphun]

this is my favourite poem af all time - i have memorized it completely.

awesome voice :)

[purdeyblackcat]

This is a beautiful reading; you have perfectly captured the feeling of the words: the hopelessness and the futility. Thank you for posting. I have always found it to be a very moving poem and your reading was particularly emotive. 5 stars.

[GordonFreeman70]

In the Gears of War trailer, they only picked out the...dark..strange words out of the poem and made it sound like he was a hardcore fighter.

Like Alan Seeger and Marcus Fenix, they are both similar to being a War machine when they were out on the battlefield.

[SpokenVerse]

The short quotation from this poem used in the video game Gears of War are a misuse of the poet's work an insult to his memory. Alan Seeger didn't intend the words to have that meaning.

[yakumo1984]

Surely it's changing the original intention of the poem. On the other hand i'm glad to have found this eerie poem via that misuse.

The gears version emphasises a unflinching determination to fight, but what I like about your version is that I feel the poem expressing regret and sadness about having the duty to fight. But now I wonder if there is any determination intended, if it is mere "acceptance of being subjected to fate" (I don't know how to put it in a better way ...)

[SpokenVerse]

Well said. You're not of the WW1 or WWII generation and this interpretation is valid for the audience that this poem has reached through Gears of War, when otherwise it might never have come to your attention.

[Kenzo808]

Alan Seeger was definitely a man that was very much committed to the fight. Do a search for Alan Seeger on youtube and then click on the vid from the American Legacy WW1 documentary. About a midway through it gets to his war service. He was about has hard core as you can get it.

[pred6]

ya if I had to fight I would because we all have to die sooner or later besides would you want to die knowing that you could have died like a man brave and proud with somthing to fight for but you died like a cowerd letting other people die for you.

[JahobesDaGreatest]

prettty much everyone here saw this poem from the gears of war trailer... so im not going to break the chain.... i did too!

Honestely I appreciate this full version much more... however, because of the theatrics that was put into the video game version i can see why so many people are drawn to it.

regardless... thanks for the post, and helping us poetry NOOBS learn something!

[Lobsterboyman]

@SpokenVerse Have you ever played gears or even tapped below the surface, it's not a game about a bunch of blood thirsty soldiers, its a story of survival and union on the brink of extinction.

And P.S, in all seriousness, good voice.

[JohnnyGraves15]

i want to get part of this poem as a tattoo! XD

[lakertwofour]

For some strange reason this poem keeps drawing me closer I like it but it freaks me out

[HenrySpock]

"Gears of War"? This is a video game of some kind? Definitely an eerie poem, this is a perfect reading (imho - sounds like it could be the author's own thinking voice.)

[Kenzo808]

Alan Seeger was an American who volunteered to fight for the French Foreign Legion before America's entry into WW1. He fought for two years in the trenches and was awarded the Croix de Guerre for bravery. He wrote this poem while on the front lines, and it eerily predicted his own demise at the Battle of the Somme.

[area149]

its kinda sad that only people know this from gears of war 2

[VerbalNinja13]

@area149 Why is it sad? It's my opinion that any medium which uses material such as this amazing poem is a good thing. I happily admit that I first heard this on the GoW2 trailer. From there, I researched it, learned about Mr. Seeger and all he did. The poem has since become very dear to me, one of the few that has. If it weren't for GoW I may never have known about this beautiful piece of work from soldier who made the ultimate sacrifice and inspired me beyond measure.

[JFernandez92]

just a amazing poem, first saw this on that gears of war trailer and just HAD to know where it came from so I could remenber it