There was only one first sergeant Who ever went to France, To walk that wintry terrace -- The Zone of the Advance. He wore no leather leggins, No Sam Brown belt in Gaul; He only wore a ribbon That ranked the China Wall. We backed him with an ensign Above the vestibule; It flapped against a window Three thousand miles from Toul. We conned the lists each evening, The casualties that came; We blessed the New York papers -- They would not run his name. And when the ranks were easeled, The sergeant came once more; He brought me all the belt plates The foeman ever wore; He brought me all the buttons From off the German gray; The Rhine still weeps for helmets That mother gave away. Now when they rise for heroes A tigress taps her heel; A cobra in an eyeball Begins to sway with zeal. Perchance there was a marshal Somewhere along the lines; They may have used a major To make the countersigns. We don't deny a colonel, A captain or a lance -- But only one first sergeant Who ever went to France. | Discover our Poem Explanations and Poet Analyses!Other Poems of Interest...ADELAIDE AND JOHN WILKES BOOTH by EDGAR LEE MASTERS EPITAPH: FOR A VIRGIN LADY by COUNTEE CULLEN FREEDOM AND LOVE by THOMAS CAMPBELL SCURVY ENTERTAINMENT by ABU ABD ALLAH THE LUMINOUS HANDS OF GOD by ELEANOR WARFIELD KENLY BACON OVER THE ROSE-LEAVES, UNDER THE ROSE by JOHN BENNETT (1865-1956) |