Robert Nichols
Reading edition
Robert Nichols was born on the Isle of Wight in 1893. His first volume, Invocations (1915), was published while he was at the front, Nichols having joined the army while he was still an undergraduate at Trinity College, Oxford. After serving one year as second lieutenant in the Royal Field Artillery, he was incapacitated by shell shock, visiting America in 1918-19 as a lecturer. His Ardours and Endurances (1917) is the most representative work of this poet, although his new volume, The Flower of Flame (1920), shows a steady advance in power.
NEARER
Nearer and ever nearer ... My body, tired but tense, Hovers 'twixt vague pleasure And tremulous confidence. Arms to have and to use them And a soul to be made Worthy, if not worthy; If afraid, unafraid. To endure for a little, To endure and have done: Men I love about me, Over me the sun! And should at last suddenly Fly the speeding death, The four great quarters of heaven Receive this little breath.