Page:All quiet along the Potomac and other poems.djvu/28

But, Harry, when the bullets fly,
And hot saltpetre flames and smokes,
While whole battalions lie afield,
One's apt to think about his folks.
  
"And so you saw them? When? and where?
The old man—is he lively yet?
And mother—does she fade at all,
Or does she seem to pine and fret
For me? And Sis—has she grown tall?
And did you see her friend—you know
That Annie Moss?
(How this pipe chokes!)
Where did you see her? Tell me, Hal,
A lot of news about our folks.

"You saw them in the church, you say;
It's likely, for they're always there."
"Not Sunday." "No? A fun'ral? Who?
Why, Harry, how you shake and stare!
'All well,' you say, and all were out.
What ails you, Hal? Is this a hoax?
Why don't you tell me, like a man,
What is the matter with our folks?"

"I said all well, old comrade, true;
I say all well, for He knows best
Who takes the young ones in his arms
Before the sun goes to the west.
The axe-man Death deals right and left,
And flowers fall as well as oaks;