AFTER PEACE

“I wonder what they're doin’ home tonight?”

Jim said —

We sat there, in the yellow firelight,

There, in a house in France —

Some of us, maybe thinkin’ of romance —

Some of us missin’ buddies who was dead —

And some just dreamin’

Sorter hardly seemin’

Ter make th’ dream come clear.

An’ then — Jim spoke —

“I wonder what they're doin’ home ternight?”

Says Jim —

An’ some of us felt, well — as if we'd like

Ter smother him!

An’ some of us tried hard-like not ter choke,

Th’ smoke

Was pretty thick an’ black!

A-thinkin’ back,

Across th’ ocean I could sort of see

A little house that means just all ter me

And, though nobody said a word I knew

Their thoughts was goin’ on th’ self-same track —

Thoughts do

Out here, in France.

Home — HOME — No wonder that we all was still —

For one of us was thinkin’ of a hill,

With pine trees on it black against th’ moon —

And one of us was dreaming of a town,

All drab an’ brown —

An’ one of us was lookin’ — far an’ high

Ter some one who had gone back home too soon

To that real home that is beyond the sky.

Nobody of us spoke fer quite a while —

We did n't smile —

We just sat still an’ wondered when there'd be

An order for ter send us home —

Back‘ crost the sea.

Th’ war was won —

An’ we was DONE!

We wanted faces that we loved an’ knew,

An’ voices too —

We sat an’ watched th’ dancin’ fire fling

Its shadders on th’ floor —

Bright shapes, an’ dim.

An’ then Jim coughed as if his throat was sore,

An’ — “Say — let's sing!”

Says Jim.