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ARMISTICE DAY
 

BREST LEFT BEHIND

BY JOHN CHIPMAN FARRAR

The sun strikes gold the dirty street,
The band blares, the drums insist,
And brown legs twinkle and muscles twist—
Pound!—Pound!—the rhythmic feet.
The laughing street-boys shout,
And a couple of hags come out
To grin and bob and clap.
Stiff rusty black their dresses,
And crispy white their Breton cap,
Prim on white, smooth tresses.


Wait!...Wait!...While dun clouds droop
Over the sunlit docks,
Over the wet gray rocks
And mast of steamer and sloop,
And the old squat towers,
Damp gray and mossy brown,
Where lovely Ann looked down
And dreamed rich dreams through long luxurious hours.


Sudden and swift, it rains!
Familiar, fogging, gray;
It blots the sky away

And cuts the face with biting little pains.