Another poem to commemorate Veteran's Day

The Immortals


I killed them, but they would not die.
Yea! all the day and all the night
For them I could not rest or sleep,
Nor guard from them nor hide in flight.

Then in my agony I turned
And made my hands red in their gore.
In vain - for faster than I slew
They rose more cruel than before.

I killed and killed with slaughter mad;
I killed till all my strength was gone.
And still they rose to torture me,
For Devils only die in fun.

I used to think the Devil hid
In women’s smiles and wine’s carouse.
I called him Satan, Balzebub.
But now I call him, dirty louse.

Isaac Rosenberg

We should all appreciate that the old song 'the Hokey Pokey' is inspired by WWI delousing exercises, typically conducted in the nude, with cold water. That is what it is all about. War is nasty, brutal, but not the worst thing. The worst thing is a people so debased that they can imagine nothing worth fighting for.

I offer my poor thanks to those better men than I who bravely signed up for their tour of duty, not knowing the end, and had the courage to follow through.