Wilfred Owen - The Parable of the Old Man and the Young

Not only the greatest of all war poems, but also one of the greatest poems ever written. By anyone. Ever.

The Parable of the Old Man and the Young

So Abram rose, and clave the wood, and went,
And took the fire with him, and a knife.
And as they sojourned both of them together,
Isaac the first-born spake and said, My Father,
Behold the preparations, fire and iron,
But where the lamb for this burnt-offering?
Then Abram bound the youth with belts and straps,
And builded parapets and trenches there,
And stretchèd forth the knife to slay his son.
When lo! an angel called him out of heaven,
Saying, Lay not thy hand upon the lad,
Neither do anything to him. Behold,
A ram, caught in a thicket by its horns;
Offer the Ram of Pride instead of him.

But the old man would not so, but slew his son,
And half the seed of Europe, one by one.

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• Wilfred
• Owen
• Poem
• Poetry
• War
• Parable
• Old
• Man
• Young
• WW1
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• One
• WWI

[Olafandlafandlaf]

I had a shot at doing it, I must say but, you're accent is so much more appropriate, compared to my Glaswegian drawl.

[Olafandlafandlaf]

You've made a few mistakes and some of the lines you stop at odd times. It was an almost perfect reading but for those things. And the last two lines, you make a mistake in the second last one - 'But the old man would not so, but slew his son.'

Sorry. I love this poem and your voice is perfect for it, just you make some painfukl mistakes.