Poetry Explorer- Classic Contemporary Poetry, ELIJAH WREN, by EDWIN CARLILE LITSEY


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Classic and Contemporary Poetry

ELIJAH WREN, by                     Poet's Biography
First Line: A roughneck hick from buzzard's branch in the cumber
Last Line: Went up, like the prophet did of old, in a chariot of flame!
Alternate Author Name(s): Litsey, E. Carl Edwin Carlile
Subject(s): Death; Soldiers; Dead, The


A roughneck hick from Buzzard's Branch in the Cumberland's heart was he,
Who never had seen a printed word nor heard of liberty;
But he sure could hit a squirrel's head in the top of the tallest tree.

When Uncle Sam threw out his net it caught Elijah Wren.
His ma said he was twenty-one, the oldest of her ten;
So he walked into the polling place and boldly touched the pen.

He wot not what 'twas all about, except they wanted him.
They said he was a perfect man, chock full of snap and vim,
Albeit he was loose of joint, and just a trifle slim.

He liked the bustle of the camp, was proud of khaki clothes,
Most awkward on the drill field and forgot to turn his toes,
Would only grin at a reprimand and rub his freckled nose.

In time a transport gobbled him and set him down in Brest.
A cattle car engulfed him then, with two scant days for rest,
And when his feet touched earth again there was thunder in the west.

"Move up and take position!" So he hiked on straight ahead,
And wondered at the yellow glare that all around was spread,
And wondered more to see so soon the scattered piles of dead.

A front line trench, a daylight charge, with barrage dropping down,
Upon each face a look of hate, upon each brow a frown.
Some thought of death, some of a girl, and others of renown.

Elijah Wren thought not at all, except he had to kill,
And he outstripped his slower mates in storming "90" hill.
With whoop and shout and laughter he went to it with a will.

Then those who followed saw two shells burst to his left and right,
A sheet of fire enveloped him, and he was gone from sight.
"Blowed into bits!" a doughboy said; "but he knowed how to fight!"

So the roughneck hick from Buzzard's Branch, Elijah Wren by name,
Who never saw a printed word and never heard of fame,
Went up, like the prophet did of old, in a chariot of flame!





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