Confederate Private

Hauteur brigand bound for gratuitous strand Knows not he is country's chattel, enemy's contraband As gallant marauders o'er ages spanned His quest for glory fate will countermand Gleeful lad starting out on quick, definitive errand Becoming grizzled veteran in war that will opportunistically expand Raw recruit ready to fight for: family, honor, land Feted for trivial pursuits, political ends; on mission clandestined Tailored uniform, coiffed hat, shiny ordinand Destined to be sullied by the designs of ruthless marksman In ritual parade of arms on regal, stately stand Unaware of his wistful foe's unremitting hand With loyal comrades bivouacked in tidy band Soon to be in raucous tumult marked with a beastly brand Dutiful, diligent soldier always firing on demand In the heat of battle, only self preservation will command Pre-war sprawling tenements; deprivations can withstand Later, in squalid camp morphing into looting, pillaging firebrand Vital piece in war game carefully mapped, planned Innocuous pawn anonymously falling in unmarked, lowland.