"_Adieu, cher Capitaine_," She had written, And I can see the flecks of soft star dust in her eyes As she thought it. Bitterly I swore at my luck ... Then Sent her that photograph taken of me On July Fourth.... Of me astride the horse of an officer. I scrawled a jest under it. But what else could I do? [Illustration: A TEST OF DISCIPLINE] ODE TO A LADY IN WHITE STOCKINGS Lady, in your stockings white, As you flutter by the road, You inspire me to write An ode. Though upon my manly back There reposes half a ton, Why repine against a pack Or gun? Though the fire-tressed orb Makes mirage upon the street; Though the baking soil absorb My feet; Though the Sergeants stamp and rave; Though the Captain's eye is flame; Pray, how should my heart behave-- The same? I become a thing of steel, Buoyant none the less as cork; Radiant from hat to heel I walk. Lady, in your stockings white, Don't you note my altered step? Don't you feel, enchanting sprite, My pep? "AVOIRDUPOIS" I sing the song of a Fat Man Out on the skirmish line, With a pack chock full of lead and bricks A'hanging on behind. Maybe you think it's funny When you're out there on the run, Beside all that equipment To be pullin' half a ton. The Captain has a heart of stone It makes no odds to him; He's there to teach you to skirmish, And you'll skirmish fat or thin. D'you suppose he gives a tinker's damn If when you're lying prone, The pack comes up behind your ears And whacks you on the dome? He just hollers "fire faster," Though he knows you couldn't hit The broad side of a barn door, If you were fifty feet from it. He doesn't care a little bit, If you're gasping hard for breath, He's there to teach you to skirmish, If you skirmish yourself to death. Oh, well, it's true about fat men Being always full of fun, Good Lord, they've got to be, 'Cause they can neither fight nor run. [Illustration: WHAT'S YOUR NAME?] GO! Your lips say "Go!" Eyes plead "Stay!" Your voice so low Faints away To nothing, dear-- God keep me here! God end the war, And let us two Travel far On Love's road, you And I in peace, Never to cease.