Before Action – Reviewed

Leon Gellert

We always had to do our work at night.
I wondered why we had to be so sly.
I wondered why we couldn’t have our fight
Under the open sky.

I wondered why I always felt so cold.
I wondered why the orders seemed so slow,
So slow to come, so whisperingly told,
So whisperingly low.

I wondered if my packing-straps were tight,
And wondered why I wondered……Sound
went wild………
and order came…… I ran into the night,
wondering why I smiled.

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Analysis

Leon Gellert’s “Before Action” captures the mental space of a soldier just before heading into combat, focusing on the questions and discomforts that preoccupy his mind rather than the violence itself. The poem doesn’t dwell on fear, but instead explores the soldier’s questioning of his situation—his discomfort with the cold, the darkness, the tightness of his pack—and his confusion when he feels excitement in the face of danger. Gellert’s approach avoids romanticizing war, instead highlighting how the soldier’s internal thoughts and small physical details shape his emotional response to the moment before battle.

The soldier is not afraid, but he is unsettled. His thoughts are filled with questions, like why they have to operate at night or why the orders come so slowly and quietly. The cold he feels is not just a physical sensation but a symbol of the discomfort and isolation of waiting for something he knows is coming but can’t control. His mind lingers on the small details, wondering if his packing straps are tight enough or if the situation is as it should be. These small, uncertain questions are what occupy him in the moments before action, not the fight itself.

There’s a focus on time throughout the poem—specifically, the slow, drawn-out feeling of waiting. The orders come “so slow to come,” almost whispering into the night, stretching out the anticipation. The soldier’s mind is consumed by the waiting, by the uncertainty of when things will happen, how they will unfold, and whether he is truly ready. The act of waiting itself becomes uncomfortable, and the soldier tries to find control in small ways, like adjusting his pack. It’s as though he’s trying to make sure the physical world around him is in order because the larger, uncontrollable event is drawing near.

Then, when the moment finally arrives, everything changes. The soldier’s thoughts shift from wondering about the situation to reacting to the chaos as the “Sound went wild” and orders finally come. He runs into the night, but instead of fear, there’s a smile on his face—a smile that he himself doesn’t fully understand. This smile isn’t about joy or triumph; it’s a response to something deeper, something instinctive, tied to the anticipation of the fight that’s finally arrived. It’s an excitement he can’t explain, a mix of confusion and readiness, suggesting that despite the danger ahead, there’s a part of him that’s eager for it. The smile becomes a symbol of the soldier’s complex relationship to the war. He knows what he’s about to face, but he’s not sure why he feels the way he does about it.

The shift in tone mirrors the soldier’s internal change. The first few stanzas are full of wondering and questioning, but the final stanza breaks that pattern. The structure becomes fragmented, matching the soldier’s shift from a mental space of uncertainty to the physical reality of the mission. The line “I wondered why I wondered…Sound went wild…” marks the transition from introspective questioning to the rush of action. This break in rhythm reflects the disorienting shift from mental unease to physical action, and the sense that the soldier, in spite of his earlier confusion, is now fully engaged in what is happening around him.

The smile at the end doesn’t offer a clear answer. It doesn’t signal triumph or resolution; instead, it highlights the complexity of human emotions when faced with something so momentous. It’s a mix of excitement and confusion, of knowing what’s to come but not fully understanding why he feels the way he does about it. The soldier isn’t overwhelmed by fear or dread, but rather caught up in a moment that’s both thrilling and unnerving, a contradiction he can’t quite explain.

Gellert’s poem ultimately shows that preparation for war is as much about the psychological state of the soldier as it is about physical readiness. The discomfort of the wait—the cold, the tight straps, the delayed orders—becomes as significant as the fight itself. The soldier’s confusion about his own feelings emphasizes the internal conflict of being on the edge of something traumatic. There’s a strange, almost unsettling excitement in his reaction to the moment of action. The poem doesn’t offer easy answers or resolutions but instead invites the reader to reflect on the complexity of human responses to war—how something as dangerous as combat can spark a mix of emotions, from dread to excitement, that the soldier himself can’t fully make sense of.

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