Poems #3

Dreamers by Siegfriend Sassoon
The word dreamers makes me think of optimists and encouragement. I was not expecting war. The author describes how far away a soldier's thoughts are when he is in combat. The writer uses a lot of description to portray two very different pictures. He describes the horrible conditions of war and in the same breathe creates a pleasant view of home inside the soldier's mind. The author arouses empathy from the reader and he himself is saddened by the state of the soldiers and their longing for home. After looking back at the title I realized that there isn't a more fitting subject for it. Who has more reason to dream than those surrounded by death and destruction? The author's point is that no matter their surroundings, anyone can dream.
I really didn't understand the first two lines of the poem that reference the "death's grey land" and "no dividend from time's to-morrows." Why is tomorrow written like that? I assume that the author is British due the the use of "bank holiday." I like poems that rhyme. They always seem easier to read to me. I really couldn't see a shift. There is an equal balance between descriptions of war and of home through the entire poem. The last stanza is bit more dramatic than the rest so that works as the build.

Not Waving But Drowning by Stevie Smith
The title made me believe there was going to be some sort of mistake nmotive. The poem is about a man who died because he was much farther out in life in general than anyone thought. He uses "not waving but drowning" to describe how he felt. The poem keeps changing from third to first person which keeps it interesting. I see the changes in views as mini shifts. Would "the dead on lay moaning" be personification since the dead are dead and really can't moan? The second to the last line, "I was much too far out all my life" brings out the deeper meaning and theme. The speaker was away from others in reality and no one came to his aid. They thoughts, or made themselves belief, he was waving when he was really being dragged under. The title sounds humorous to the reader at first, but as they move through the poem they feels the seriousness and truth in the accusation that we ignore those in need.
So when writing above I thought the different views were referring to the same person, but now rereading I'm not so sure. Each time I read it, it seems to make more sense (if I'm on the right track at all). The middle stanza has a rhyme scheme, but the first and last do not which made me reread to see if I missed the rhyme. I like the repetition of the title for the final line.