Not all of us may join the khakied throng Of those who answer and go forth to stem The tide of war. But we can all be strong And steady in our loyalty to them! Not with unfettered thought, or tongue let loose In bitterness and hate--a childish game! But with a faith, untroubled by abuse, That honors those who put the rest to shame! There is no middle ground on which to stand; We've done with useless pro-and-con debates; The one-time friend, so welcome in this land, Has turned upon us at our very gates. There is no way, with honor, to stand back-- Real patriotism isn't cool--then hot; You cannot trim the flag to fit your lack; You are American--or else you're not! THE OLD NATIONAL GUARD You pull a lot of funny stuff about us, when there's peace, The jokes you spring are sometimes rough, and make a guy see red; But when there's trouble in the air you "vaudevillians" cease, And them that laughed the loudest laugh, salute the flag instead! Oh, it's kid the boys along When there's nothing going wrong; But when your country's facin' war, You sing a different song! The khaki that they doll us in ain't seen war service--no! The most of it has been worn thin a-loafin' 'round the mess; Folks think it's great to josh us when things are goin' slow, But when the country's all het up--we ain't so worse, I guess! Then it's, "Look! The Guard is here; Fine set of men, muh dear."... (We'd like it better if you spread Your jollies through th' year!) We're only folks--th' reg'lar kind--that answered to th' call; We may be dumb and also blind--but still we'll see it through! Just wearin' khaki doesn't change our insides--not a'tall! We're human (Does that seem so strange?) waitin' to fight--for you! We mayn't be worth a cuss In this ugly foreign muss, But when the nation needs some help, Why--pass the job to us! THE ALIEN (Of course, this didn't happen, But if it had-- Would you have been shocked?) She was a pretty little thing, Round-headed, bronze-haired and trim As a yacht. And when she married a handsome, polished Prussian (Before the war was ours) Her friends all said She'd made no mistake. He had much money, and he wasn't arrogant-- To her. Their baby came-- Big and blue-eyed, Solemn and serious, With his father's arrogance in the small. She knew how wonderful a child he was And said so. The husband knew it, too-- Because the child looked like him, And they were happy Until the Nation roused itself, Stretched and yawned And got into the hellish game of kill. Then the man, Who had been almost human, Dropped his mask, And uncovered his ragged soul.