The War Prayer

by Mark Twain It was a time of great and exalting excitement. The country was up in arms, the war was on, in every breast burned the holy fire of patriotism; the drums were beating, the bands playing, the toy pistols popping, the bunched firecrackers hissing and spluttering; on every hand and far down the … Continue reading The War Prayer →

Chaplain to the Forces

["I have once more to remark upon the devotion ot duty, courage, and contempt of danger which has characterized the work of the Chaplains of the Army throughout this compaign." -- Sir John French, in the Nueve Chapelle dispatch.] Ambassador of Christ you goUp to the very gates of Hell,Through fog of powder, storm of … Continue reading Chaplain to the Forces →

In Flanders Fields

In Flanders fields the poppies blowBetween the crosses, row on row,That mark our place; and in the skyThe larks, still bravely singing, flyScarce heard amid the guns below. We are the Dead. Short days agoWe lived, felt dawn, saw sunset glow,Loved, and … Continue reading In Flanders Fields →

Poem: The Dawn Patrol

Sometimes I fly at dawn above the sea,Where, underneath, the restless waters flow --Silver, and cold, and slow,Dim in the east there burns a new-born sun,Whose rosy gleams along the ripples run,Save where the mist droops low,Hiding the level loneliness from me. And now appears beneath the milk-white hazeA little fleet of anchored ships, which … Continue reading Poem: The Dawn Patrol →