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...THE BROKEN HEART by JOHN DONNE TO THE MEMORY OF THE BRAVE AMERICANS UNDER GENERAL GREENE by PHILIP FRENEAU EPITAPH ON THE TOMB OF SIR EDWARD GILES AND HIS WIFE by ROBERT HERRICK ROMEO AND JULIET by THOMAS BAILEY ALDRICH GRANDMOTHER'S TEACHING by ALFRED AUSTIN THREE PASTORAL ELEGIES: 3 by WILLIAM BASSE |