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Edgar Guest - A Personal View Of War
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I NEVER pondered much on war, 
Except to think it was inspiring 
To have a cause to battle for, 
To hear the guns and cannons firing; 
To see brave men rush up to death
Without a sign or trace of terror, 
To give their country blood and breath, 
But now I know it`s all an error; 
War is a frightful thing I know, 
What if my boy should have to go? 

Last night I leaned above his crib
And spent a little while in playing, 
tickled him beneath his bib,
And watched his little body swaying 
With innocent delight, and then
It seemed I heard the noise of battle, 
The wails and shrieks of dying men, 
The cannons` boom, the muskets` rattle, 
And shuddered as I stooped down low, 
What if my babe some day must go?
 
War did not seem a splendid thing,
There was no glory in the fighting, 
No thrill in hearing bullets sing,
No joy in men each other smiting. 
I saw but heartache, and the grave, 
And misery and desolation, 
As splendid fellows, bold and brave, 
Were sacrificed unto the nation; 
I wept with men of long ago 
Whose boys marched out to face the foe.
 
I used to think that war was grand
That bugle calls were splendid, thrilling;
But now I know and understand,
They sound the message to start killing.
And when I ponder now on war 
`Tis but to see the terror of it, 
The glory that I saw before
Has vanished in the error of it. 
War may have seemed a brilliant show, 
It`s different when your own may go!
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