Killed in Action: Corporal Alonzo-
Bill and the narrator discuss bonds, each pledging to buy one through different channels. A telegram arrives via Viny and Gene the operator, bringing news that stuns the household and empties the farm of meaning; the narrator keeps pausing at Lon's initials carved on a crib door slat. Bill leans on Laury, who leans on him in turn, his eyes holding both grief and pride for his lost son. Soon after, Bill rides out early on Belle and returns to announce he's bought another bond from Buck, saying he must back the boys still in France now that Lon is gone.
By Payson Sibley Wild · First published 1905 · Genre: War Poetry, Elegy, Narrative Poetry · 634 words
First lines
The day 'fore thet thar awful telegram / From Washin'ton fer Bill was brung t' the house / By Viny-she'd be'n up ter town; an' Gene / The operater, lookin' kind o' white / Hed handed her the yeller envelope / An' sez: "It's jes' some bizness fer yer Paw" -- / Me 'n' Bill was talkin' 'bout the Lib'ty bonds. / We'd thrashed the matter over, 'n' both agreed / The only thing ter dew, 'f a feller hed / The price, was git a bond, an' ef 'e hedn't, / Ter git one ennyhow; an' thet's how 'twas. / Bill he'd suscribed with Charlie Buck, who runs / The Farmers' Gild (an' nuthin' much besides), / While I'd went up ter Sims' an' teched a chap / I knowed fer five, an' trusted Proverdunce / Ter see me threw. (Bill sez thet Proverdunce / Is mos'ly what ye dew yerself, with p'r'aps / A dash o' luck throwed in ter help along.) / Then come the stunnin' news. Things wa'n't the same, / 'N' I reckon never will be 'gain. The farm / Seemed empty like, 'n' I stopped good menny times / Ter look whar Lon hed carved 'is 'nishuls on / A crib door slat. It give me 'n awful thump / Inside ter see how sort o' closter Bill / An' Laury was; she hed ter lean on him, / An'-God, I tell ye he was suthin' wuth / A-leanin' on, a human staff o' oak.
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Genres
- War Poetry — The poem centers on the death of Corporal Alonzo in combat during WWI, making military sacrifice and the tragic consequences of war the primary thematic focus.
- Elegy — The work mourns the loss of a young soldier, employing reflective, somber tones and meditation on grief characteristic of elegiac form.
- Narrative Poetry — The poem tells a coherent story with clear characters, plot progression, and dramatic tension that unfolds from the receipt of the death telegram through Bill's response.
- Vernacular Poetry — The entire composition employs rural American dialect with phonetic spelling and colloquial syntax that defines both its voice and accessibility to working-class readers.
Tags
World War I · war death · loss of son · grief · parental grief · patriotism · sacrifice · duty · family loss · home front · rural America · American farm
What this Textopian page supports
Killed in Action: Corporal Alonzo- is listed on Textopian as a short story by Payson Sibley Wild, dated 1905 CE.
This source record anchors work identity, reading entry points, and catalog context for checking claims about the work.
- Work type: Short story
- Author: Payson Sibley Wild
- Date: 1905 CE
- Language: English
- Genres: War Poetry, Elegy, Narrative Poetry, Vernacular Poetry, Character Study
- Length: 634 words
- Structure: 1 section, 2 paragraphs
- Reading fit: Fairly Easy (7th Grade)
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- Work identity for Killed in Action: Corporal Alonzo- by Payson Sibley Wild
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- Genre and topic classification from the Textopian catalog
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