And quiet sleep and a sweet dream when the long trick’s over.
Poetry References
Chapter 1:
An orphan’s curse would drag to hell . . .
“The Rime of the Ancient Mariner,” Samuel Taylor Coleridge
Chapter 2:
The fighting man shall take from the sun . . .
(and following stanzas)
“Into Battle,” Julian Grenfell
I never shall forget the way . . .
“The Modern Traveler,” Hilaire Belloc
Chapter 3:
. . . The burning sun no more shall heat . . .
“As Weary Pilgrim,” Anne Bradstreet
Chapter 4:
Here dead lie we because we did not chose . . .
“Here Dead Lie We,” A.E. Housman
There’s a land that is fairer than day . . .
“Sweet By and By,” S.F. Bennett and J.P. Webster
High in the wreck I held the cup . . .
“The Deluge,” G.K. Chesterton
. . . Kilmeny had been where the cock never crew . . .
“Kilmeny,” James Hogg
Read here the moral roundly writ . . .
“Boxing,” from “Verses on Games,” Rudyard Kipling
We are the Dead. Short days ago . . .
“In Flanders Field,” John McCrae
I’ve lived a life of sturt and strife . . .
“MacPherson’s Farewell,” Robert Burns
Soft as the voice of an angel . . .
“Whispering Hope,” Septimus Winner
Oh yesterday our little troop was ridden through and through . . .
“To-morrow,” John Masefield
Chapter 5:
Biding God’s pleasure and their chief’s command . . .
“The Birkenhead,” Sir Henry Yule
But now ye wait at Hell-Mouth Gate and not in Berkely Square . . .
“Tomlinson,” Rudyard Kipling
Chapter 6:
Quoth he, “The she-wolf’s litter . . .”
“Horatius,” Lord Macaulay
And out the red blood spouted . . .
“The Battle of Lake Regillus,” Lord Macaulay
I shall not die alone, alone, but kin to all the powers . . .
(and following couplets)
“The Last Hero,” G.K. Chesterton
Through teeth, and skull, and helmet . . .
“Horatius,” Lord Macaulay
Chapter 7:
A child said What is the grass? . . .
“Song of Myself,” Walt Whitman
Too delicate is flesh to be . . .
“The Debt,” E.V. Lucas
Was there love once? I have forgotten her . . .
(and following four stanzas)
“Fulfillment,” Robert Nichols
For, alas, alas, with me . . .
“To One in Paradise,” E.A. Poe
Chapter 8:
Around no fire the soldiers sleep to-night . . .
(and following stanza)
“The Battlefield,” Sydney Oswald
When first I saw you in the curious street . . .
“German Prisoners,” Joseph Lee
The recipe for “Thrice Cooked Javalina Brains,” and the story about “Major” are from the wonderful (and highly recommended) book, The Contented Poacher’s Epicurean Odyssey, by Elantu Viovodi, with the author’s gracious permission.
Bind her, grind her, burn her with fire . . .
“A Chant of Love for England,” Helen Gray Cone
Chapter 9:
Big bugs have little bugs . . .
Originally by Jonathan Swift,
then modified by Ogden Nash and anon.
Burned from the ore’s rejected dross . . .
“The Anvil,” Laurence Binyon
All that is gold does not glitter . . .
From The Fellowship of the Ring, J.R.R. Tolkien,
The fewer men, the greater share of honour . . .
From Henry V, Shakespeare
A thousand shapes of death surround us . . .
The Iliad, Book 12, Homer
Chapter 10:
Shall I retreat from him, from clash of combat . . .
The Iliad, Book 18, Homer
She reached our range. Our broadside rang . . .
(and following stanzas)
“On Board the Cumberland” George H. Boker
Then the dead men fouled the scuppers and the wounded filled the chains . . .
“The Ballad of John Silver,” John Masefield
No heed he gave to the flying ball . . .
“The Sword-Bearer,” George H. Boker
Victory! Victory! . . .
“Boy Brittan,” Forceythe Willson
Chapter 11:
He said: “Thou petty people, let me pass . . .
“The Kaiser and Belgium,” Stephen Phillips
Efficient, thorough, strong, and brave—his vision is to kill . . .
“The Superman,” Robert Grant
Hark, hark, the dogs do bark . . .
“Mother Goose”, anon.
All other stanzas are from Service’s “The Call”
Chapter 12:
A hundred thousand fighting men . . .
(and following stanzas)
“The Battle of Liège,” Dana Burnet
Three hundred thousand men, but not enough . . .
(and following stanza)
“Verdun,” Eden Phillpotts
Chapter 13:
All drawn from “A Consecration,” John Masefield
Chapter 14:
All drawn from “Once to Every Man and Nation,” James Russell Lowell
Chapter 16:
Was a lady such a lady, cheeks so round and lips so red . . .
“A Toccatta of Galuppi’s,” Robert Browning
You meaner beauties of the night . . .
“Elizabeth of Bohemia,” Sir Henry Wotton
Chapter 17:
True Thomas lay on Huntlie bank . . .
(and following stanzas)
“True Thomas,” anon.
Some text has been derived from a poem entitled, “The Warrior and the Lady,” by Billy Martin, with the author’s gracious permission.
Chapter 18:
My mistress’ eyes are nothing like the sun . . .
“Sonnet CXXX,” Shakespeare
I have been given my charge to keep . . .
“The Fairies’ Siege,” Rudyard Kipling
I must down to the seas again, to the lonely sea and the sky . . .
“Sea Fever,” John Masefield
THE END