Black Beetles in Amber - читать онлайн бесплатно полную версию книги . Страница 51
COUPLETS
Intended for Inscription on a Sword Presented to Colonel Cutting of the National Guard of California.
I am for Cutting. I'm a bladeDesigned for use at dress parade.My gleaming length, when I displayPeace rules the land with gentle sway;But when the war-dogs bare their teethGo seek me in the modest sheath.I am for Cutting. Not for meThe task of setting nations free.Let soulless blades take human life,My softer metal shuns the strife.The annual review is mine,When gorgeous shopmen sweat and shine,And Biddy, tip-toe on the pave,Adores the cobble-trotting brave.I am for Cutting. 'Tis not mineTo hew amain the hostile line;Not mine all pitiless to spreadThe plain with tumuli of dead.My grander duty lies afarFrom haunts of the insane hussar,Where charging horse and struggling footAre grimed alike with cannon-soot.When Loveliness and Valor meetBeneath the trees to dance, and eat,And sing, and much beside, beholdMy golden glories all unfold!There formidably are displayedThe useful horrors of my bladeIn time of feast and dance and ballad,I am for cutting chicken salad.