Poetry Explorer- Classic Contemporary Poetry, THE TWINS, by ROBERT WILLIAM SERVICE


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Classic and Contemporary Poetry

THE TWINS, by                 Poet Analysis     Poet's Biography
First Line: There were two brothers, john and james
Last Line: And john? Well, search the potter's field.
Subject(s): Brothers; War; World War I; Half-brothers; First World War


THERE were two brothers, John and James,
And when the town went up in flames,
To save the house of James dashed John,
Then turned, and lo! his own was gone.

And when the great World War began,
To volunteer John promptly ran;
And while he learned live bombs to lob,
James stayed at home and -- sneaked his job.

John came home with a missing limb;
That didn't seem to worry him;
But oh, it set his brain awhirl
To find that James had -- sneaked his girl!

Time passed. John tried his grief to drown;
To-day James owns one-half the town;
His army contracts riches yield;
And John? Well, search the Potter's Field.





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