THEY sat before a dugout
In the unfamiliar quiet of silenced guns.
And one said:
"Now that it's over
What about a bit of truth?
Let us say why we came to fight--
No frills--
You first, old Fire-eater!"--
One with a whimsical face spoke freely;
"I?--I sought some stir,
Some urge in living,
Some sense in dying.
I sought a mountain top
With a view!"
"And the answer?"
"I have seen others find
What I sought."
. . . . . . .
"I don't know that it's anyone's business
Why I came,"
(Another spoke as if unwillingly),
"A girl laughed, I think--
Funny?--Yes, funny as hell!"--
. . . . . . .
His neighbor said,
"I was a business man,
No sentiment,
Nothing of that kind,--
But the band played
And, suddenly, I saw
My country,
A woman, with hands outstretched,
Her back to the wall--"
"U--um," they nodded,
"She's got a pull,
That old lady."
. . . . . . .
"As for me," the speaker was abrupt,
"I was afraid!
I saw pictures,
I heard things--
I couldn't sleep
For the Beast that was abroad--
Fear!
That's what brought me!"
. . . . . . .
They sat silent for a moment
In the sun.
Then an older man said briefly,
"We were all afraid . . . . .
. . . But what of hate?
Did no one come because of hate?"
. . . . . . .
"Yes--I"--
They looked at this man
Curiously,
But he added nothing,
And no one questioned.
. . . . . . .
A fresh-faced boy spoke modestly;
"Our family are all Army people--
So, of course--
And it's all over now.
We got through.
But it was a near thing--
What?"