Comment from I am Cat

Excellent

Poetry from a man who has been there.
(well... not "there"... but somewhere like it)
:)
It has a realism which hits home...
a nice cadence and rhyme which has a sort of marching sound to it...
like marching men...

maybe that's just in my head... (but I don't think so)

you're an interesting sort of man.
I like the way you write.
Thanks for sharing... I wish that more people had read this.

 Comment Written 09-May-2015

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reply by the author on 09-May-2015

Thanks for digging this golden oldie up. It was one of the very earlie ones. The form is known as rhyme royal and I selected it because of its somewhat pompous style. Well spotted.

Comment from Donovan

Excellent

Some of the most bloody wars ever fought. The bravery of those that stood and war when the outcome was inevitable. You have written well and I could feel the emotion of the futility and yet, never giving up. Very nicely done.

 Comment Written 25-Mar-2015

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reply by the author on 26-Mar-2015

Thank you very much for your kind review. Much appreciated.

Comment from RodG

Excellent

An excellent rendition of what happened to British forces at Isandhiwana. You set the scene extremely well describing what these brave men faced and how they met their fates. Good use of rhyme throughout; none seemed forced.
An event that's probably slipped from memory for many of us. Good job!

 Comment Written 25-Mar-2015

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reply by the author on 25-Mar-2015

Thanks for your encouraging review. People tend to forget that it was the Zuly War and not WWI that gave rise to the description of the British army as "Lions led by donkeys." The Rhyme form is Rhyme Royal, somewhat ponderous and pompous, definitely not my favourite but I like my form to have some relationship to content where possible and it seemed appropriate here.