Send your finest trackbacks to this terrific Robert Service poem with its amusing concluding joke.
Over the Parapet
Robert W. Service
All day long when the shells sail over
I stand at the sandbags and take my chance;
But at night, at night I’m reckless rover
And over the parapet gleams Romance.
Romance! Romance! How I’ve dreamed it, writing
Dreary old records of money and mart,
Me with my head chuckful of fighting
And the blood of vikings to thrill my heart.
But little I thought that my time was coming,
Sudden and splendid, supreme and soon;
And here I am with the bullets humming
As I crawl and I curse the light of the moon.
Out alone, for adventure thirsting,
Out in mysterious No Man’s Land;
Prone with the dead when a star-shell, bursting,
Flares on the horrors on every hand.
There are ruby stars and they drip and wiggle;
And the grasses gleam in a light blood-red;
There are emerald stars, and their tails they wriggle,
And ghastly they glare on the face of the dead.
But the worst of all are the stars of whiteness,
That spill in a pool of pearly flame,
Pretty as gems in their silver brightness,
And etching a man for a bullet’s aim.
Yet oh, it’s great to be here with danger,
Here in the weird, death-pregnant dark,
In the devil’s pasture a stealthy ranger,
When the moon is decently hiding. Hark!
What was that? Was it just the shiver
Of an eerie wind or a clammy hand?
The rustle of grass, or the passing quiver
Of one of the ghosts of No Man’s Land?
It’s only at night when the ghosts awaken,
And gibber and whisper horrible things;
For to every foot of this God-forsaken
Zone of jeopard some horror clings.
Ugh! What was that? It felt like a jelly,
That flattish mound in the noisome grass;
You three big rats running free of its belly,
Out of my way and let me pass!
But if there’s horror, there’s beauty, wonder;
The trench lights gleam and the rockets play.
That flood of magnificent orange yonder
Is a battery blazing miles away.
With a rush and a singing a great shell passes;
The rifles resentfully bicker and brawl,
And here I crouch in the dew-drenched grasses,
And look and listen and love it all.
God! What a life! But I must make haste now,
Before the shadow of night be spent.
It’s little the time there is to waste now,
If I’d do the job for which I was sent.
My bombs are right and my clippers ready,
And I wriggle out to the chosen place,
When I hear a rustle . . . Steady! . . . Steady!
Who am I staring slap in the face?
There in the dark I can hear him breathing,
A foot away, and as still as death;
And my heart beats hard, and my brain is seething,
And I know he’s a Hun by the smell of his breath.
Then: “Will you surrender?” I whisper hoarsely,
For it’s death, swift death to utter a cry.
“English schwein-hund!” he murmurs coarsely.
“Then we’ll fight it out in the dark,” say I.
So we grip and we slip and we trip and wrestle
There in the gutter of No Man’s Land;
And I feel my nails in his wind-pipe nestle,
And he tries to gouge, but I bite his hand.
And he tries to squeal, but I squeeze him tighter:
“Now,” I say, “I can kill you fine;
But tell me first, you Teutonic blighter!
Have you any children?” He answers: “Nein.”
Nine! Well, I cannot kill such a father,
So I tie his hands and I leave him there.
Do I finish my little job? Well, rather;
And I get home safe with some light to spare.
Heigh-ho! by day it’s just prosy duty,
Doing the same old song and dance;
But oh! with the night — joy, glory, beauty:
Over the parapet — Life, Romance!
§
Such a joker that Service.
- The Pink Flamingo // Wednesday, February 6, 2008 at 23:30
Lent Is A Time to Forgive
FORGIVING BIG MACI think it is time to call a truce. I am tired of the fighting. It is counter-productive. It is hurting us, and it is empowering “the enemy”. And – when I say “the enemy” I am talking about the Democra… - Obama’s Super Tuesday Speech « nuke gingrich // Wednesday, February 6, 2008 at 23:30
- The World According To Carl // Thursday, February 7, 2008 at 01:37
Top 10 Things You Won’t See As The Featured Ingredient On Iron Chef America
This was posted originally a long time ago but the topic came up recently in conversation and I thought I’d repost it for your amusement.
… - Right Truth // Thursday, February 7, 2008 at 09:23
Be afraid my fellow Americans
Nonlethal hand grenades and empty rocket-launching tubes were stolen from a locked, fenced-in workshop at a remote end of Marine Corps Air Station Miramar, — all five AT-4 rocket-launching tubes and all 15 sting grenades being stored in the workshop - Pirate’s Cove // Thursday, February 7, 2008 at 15:23
The Do Nothing Democrat Congress Continues The Trend
Is it partisan politics, Bush Derangement Syndrome, or simply sheer incompetence?
Though it’s sometimes hard to tell, the Bush Administration has another year left and a government to run in the interim. Is it too much to ask the Senate to do its… - Leaning Straight Up » Friday Funnies: Time to take a break // Friday, February 8, 2008 at 02:48
- Leaning Straight Up // Friday, February 8, 2008 at 02:49
Berkeley vs The USMC: The City Council, live on video and on the record
I know that having heard about this fiasco, I wish I could have been there.Well, Berkeley was nice enough to videotape their session, and I managed to upload to YouTube some interesting clips:Because of the procedures they use, the main res… - Rhymes With Right // Friday, February 8, 2008 at 17:35
From The Mouths Of Babes
Just one of those reminders about how far we have gone in accommodating illegal aliens in this country at the expense of every American citizen, including those of Hispanic descent. As I ve mentioned, over half of my students are… - THE MIDNIGHT SUN » Blog Archive » AMERICAN CONSERVATISM: KEEPING THE FAITH // Friday, February 8, 2008 at 20:05
- Big Dogs Weblog // Friday, February 8, 2008 at 20:07
How Hillary Will Leave Our Country
Hillary Clinton claims that she has the most experience is the best qualified person for the job. If John McCain wins the Republican nomination then that is out the door because he has been there a lot longer and has more qualifications. Make no mist… - Right Voices » Blog Archive » Why Were 200 Michigan Marine Reservists Kicked Out Of Toledo? // Friday, February 8, 2008 at 21:41
- Cao’s Blog // Friday, February 8, 2008 at 21:44
uh-oh Berkeley is just beginning to heat up
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dCXqYvJ0DaAThis video was put together by Rep. DeMint’s people.
And it was sent to me by the American Family Association.You may not be aware of the situation in Berkeley, California. The mainstream media has n… - Cao’s Blog // Friday, February 8, 2008 at 23:19
Marine Reservists forced out of Toledo by Mayor Finkbeiner
Grand Rapids Marines were forced to cut short their training exercise in Toledo Friday by the Mayor’s office.
Pam at Right Voices asks: Why Were 200 Michigan Marine Reservists Kicked Out Of Toledo?
She has more links, although links are sparse o… - Rhymes With Right // Saturday, February 9, 2008 at 09:02
The Problem Of Double Standards In Political Speech/Contribution Limitation Laws
I recently got into a bit of a debate with a Democrat over the issue of political participation limitation legislation like McCain-Feingold. Having been accused of confusing money with speech and supporting the buying of elections , I noted one of… - Cao’s Blog // Saturday, February 9, 2008 at 18:25
Surprise, surprise Mayor Finkbeiner is a democrat
Thanks to Glenn Reynolds for that little pearl of wisdom.
A great article on this controversy is here, entitled “Toledo to Marines: Drop dead”
We read:
I gather that Mayor Finkbeiner (a Democrat, readers will be surprised to learn), like th… - Cao’s Blog // Saturday, February 9, 2008 at 18:26
McCain has little conservative support: CPAC poll
Read the whole article-click on the picture above.
What I feel is the most important excerpt from it is here:Toward the end of his speech, after promising to prevent Iran from possessing, “…the weapons to advance their malevolent ambitions,” M… - Woman Honor Thyself // Sunday, February 10, 2008 at 20:51
The “West” is SuperioR IndeeD
Is the “West” guilty of anything?
You bet.
The ongoing colossal transfer of wealth to the Middle East Muzlims in exchange for…you got it……..OIL.
… - Leaning Straight Up » Berkeley vs The USMC: Battle Royal; Do they support the troops; and War vs Not War // Monday, February 11, 2008 at 04:24
- Leaning Straight Up // Tuesday, February 12, 2008 at 00:47
Che Guevara: Hero of the left?…
- Leaning Straight Up // Tuesday, February 12, 2008 at 01:08
Irony: California environmentalist demands trees be cut down
When do the tree huggers in California hate Redwood trees?When they block their holy Solar Panels.On a personal note, I went to high school near this neighborhood. I need to check my yearbook and see if I went to high school with any … - Leaning Straight Up // Tuesday, February 12, 2008 at 01:57
Pimping Chelsea- Was the apology too soon?
This is one of those stories that a lot of people cover so I ignore this just to avoid jumping on the pig pile.I admit that I never saw the big deal. For Pete’s sake people, it’s just an expression, and frankly one that is used a lot…
tag: Open Trackbacks, Poetry, Robert Service
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