GOODBYE, BOYS!

Line after line, you swung along,

You men, who only a while ago

Were just a part of the city's throng

Working for self, sedate and slow.

But now — what a diff'rence! Living throbs

Of the Nation's heart! Her reborn men;

And some who saw you gulped back sobs —

And wished you were marching home again!

Our eyes were dim as you went past,

For we knew you — at last!

We felt that every senseless joke

About a soldier, wherever made,

Would make us ashamed.... For now we choke

Whenever the Colors and you parade!

Wherever that O. D. uniform

Shall gladden the eyes of we useless men

We can n't forget who is meeting the storm —

That some of you wo n't come home again!

You went.... We talked.... God blot the past!

For we know you — at last!