Standing straight in columns and ranks,
Heads newly shaved by the barber,
Carrying guns loaded with blanks:
New recruits after Pearl Harbor.
(Our foes wait in their well-defended lair,)
The Generals inspected troops,
(Imagining that they’ll stay safe and warm.)
Standing straight in columns and ranks;
Afterwards they broke into groups,
(All my soldiers ready their arms to bear.)
And marched towards the ships’ gangplanks.
(Bugles sound: Battalions! Companies! Form!)
They boarded ships with guns and tanks
To England, the Atlantic crossed.
(Our siege cannons thunder; smoke mists the air.)
Standing straight in columns and ranks,
(While thinking of barricades each must storm,)
They’d free Europe at any cost.
(Once over the walls, we’ll know what’s in store.)
Allied troops endured dire losses;
(It’s hard to see through misty fogs of war.)
Gaining a foothold up the banks.
Heroes sleep beneath the crosses
Standing straight in columns and ranks.
Columns and Ranks (Quatern 9-25-2014)
Fog of War (Ottava Rima 8-19-2014)
by Mark Halliday / WarriorPoet
Columns and Ranks (20140925)
Standing straight in columns and ranks,
Heads newly shaved by the barber,
Carrying guns loaded with blanks:
New recruits after Pearl Harbor.
The Generals inspected troops,
Standing straight in columns and ranks;
Afterwards they broke into groups,
And marched towards the ships’ gangplanks.
They boarded ships with guns and tanks
To England, the Atlantic crossed.
Standing straight in columns and ranks,
They’d free Europe at any cost.
Allied troops endured dire losses;
Gaining a foothold up the banks.
Heroes sleep beneath the crosses
Standing straight in columns and ranks.
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