"No! I'll ask you if I want you; Never mind the hands. Warnock, _you_ are Sergeant Hill, Just call out your commands." "Whitney! Warnock! Gee, what luck!" I chortled in my glee. My name is Brown, t'was very plain He'd never get to me. So I listened to the questions And the answers one by one, And wondered if that 3rd degree Was ever to be done. I thought of cups with handles on, Of napkins and clean hands; I thought of all the pretty girls That live in _Christian_ lands. I thought of cakes, and pies, and things, I thought of home in pain, And wondered if I'd ever sleep Till 9 o'clock again. I wished I had some lager beer Or a nice silver fizz; When, "Mr. Brown, you tell us What a special order is." I rose, saluted, brushed my pants Then mutely gazed around. I stood transfixed; the Captain said "_Sit down, Mr. Brown!_" SUNDAY IN BARRACKS Little silences Sit in the corners Munching their finger tips. I lie stretched flat upon my bunk.... I count the cracks in the pine-boards above me. I am alone. These others who fill the air with talk About right and wrong ... life and death ... With heavy-nailed footsteps And sometimes heavier profanity ... What becomes of them on Sunday? Dinners ... the beauty of women ... Pretty talk. Camaraderie beside the lake ... fellow for fellow, What does it matter? My little silences slide along the floor ... Clamber up my bunk To grin at me in my loneliness. Then I think of the millions Who have none for whom to be lonely, French, English, German, Russ.... What does it matter the language? We are all one, Levelled in solitude. And I laugh at the silences, And laugh to see them scurrying back to their corners, Gibbering. THE BALLAD OF MONTMORENCY GRAY I Since we came to Plattsburg Training Camp Upon the 12th of May, A lot of clever candidates Have fallen by the way; But the strangest fall among them all Was Montmorency Gray. II Monty was a clever lad, As bright as bright could be; He came up days ahead of time-- Ahead of you and me-- And got in strong right from the start. O a clever lad was he! III