The Man He Killed

Had he and I but met

    By some old ancient inn,

We should have set us down to wet

    Right many a nipperkin!

    But ranged as infantry,

    And staring face to face,

I shot at him as he at me,

    And killed him in his place.

    I shot him dead because—

    Because he was my foe,

Just so: my foe of course he was;

    That's clear enough; although

    He thought he'd 'list, perhaps,

    Off-hand like—just as I—

Was out of work—had sold his traps—

    No other reason why.

    Yes; quaint and curious war is!

    You shoot a fellow down

You'd treat, if met where any bar is,

    Or help to half a crown.

This should be compared with War Poet Ivor Gurney's ideas on the same theme. http://oldpoetry.com/opoem/30783-Ivor-Gurney-The-Target

Line 3/4

We should have set us down to wet

Right many a nipperkin!

in modern English might be

We would have sat down for a drink and drunk many a glass.

nipperkin = 1/8 of a pint

Lines 13/14/15

He thought he'd 'list, perhaps,

Off-hand like -- just as I --

Was out of work -- had sold his traps --

In modern English might be

Perhaps he thought of enlisting in a casual manner, just like me, because we were both out of work and had had to sell our tools.

traps = the tools or trappings of a particular trade.

Last Stanza in modern English might be

How strange war is, you might meet someone and kill them on the battlefield but, if you had encountered them in peace, you might have bought him a drink or loaned him some money.

treat = to buy something for someone

half-a-crown = old British currency. One eigth of a sovereign or £0.125