I saw you starting for another war,
The emblem of adventure and of youth,
So that men trembled, saying: He forsooth
Has gone, has gone, and shall return no more.
And then out there, they told me you were dead
Taken and killed; how was it that I knew,
Whatever else was true, that was not true?
And then I saw you pale upon your bed,
Scarcely a year ago, when you were sent
Back from the margin of the dim abyss;
For Death had sealed you with a warning kiss,
And let you go to meet a nobler fate:
To serve in fellowship, O fortunate:
To die in battle with your regiment.