 Half a league onward,All in the valley of Death Rode the six hundred."Forward, the Light Brigade! "Charge for the guns!" he said: Into the valley of Death Rode the six hundred.Was there a man dismay'd? Not tho' the soldier knew Someone had blunder'd:Theirs not to make reply, Theirs not to reason why, Theirs but to do and die: Into the valley of Death Rode the six hundred.Cannon to left of them, Cannon in front of them Volley'd and thunder'd;Storm'd at with shot and shell, Boldly they rode and well, Into the jaws of Death, Into the mouth of Hell Rode the six hundred.Flash'd as they turn'd in air, Sabring the gunners there, Charging an army, while All the world wonder'd:Plunged in the battery-smoke Right thro' the line they broke; Cossack and Russian Reel'd from the sabre stroke Shatter'd and sunder'd.Then they rode back, but not Not the six hundred.Cannon to left of them, Cannon behind them Volley'd and thunder'd;Storm'd at with shot and shell, While horse and hero fell, They that had fought so well Came thro' the jaws of Death Back from the mouth of Hell, All that was left of them, Left of six hundred.O the wild charge they made! All the world wondered.Honor the charge they made, Honor the Light Brigade, Noble six hundred. |
Thursday, October 27, 2011
The First Poem I Ever Liked
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9 comments:
Timeless. Those words of 1854 found resonance in events 110+ yrs later.
It is well that war is so terrible, otherwise we should grow too fond of it.
~Robert E. Lee
I consider Robert E Lee a Great American. His decision not to continue the fight as a Guerilla army as he was urged to do by his subordinates is on the same level of Patriotism as George Washington's Newburgh Adress.
BTW Ed this is what TRUE Patriotism is about, not the Pledge of Allegiance.
~Leadfoot
We have just won the Rugby World Cup down here after beating our arch rivals Australia in the semi's and our nemesis France in the final.
May I add this little number from that great Australian Poet AB "Banjo" Paterson to the dialogue?....
The Man From Ironbark 1894
AB Paterson
It was the man from Ironbark who struck the Sydney town,
He wandered over street and park, he wandered up and down.
He loitered here, he loitered there, till he was like to drop,
Until at last in sheer despair he sought a barbers shop.
"'Ere! shave my beard and whiskers off, I'll be a man of mark,
I'll go and do the Sydney toff up home in Ironbark."
The barber man was small and flash, as barbers mostly are,
He wore a strike-your-fancy sash, he smoked a huge cigar:
He was a humorist of note and keen at repartee,
He laid the odds and kept a "tote", whatever that may be.
And when he saw our friend arrive, he whispered "Heres a lark!
Just watch me catch him all alive this man from Ironbark."
There were some gilded youths that sat along the barber's wall,
Their eyes were dull, their heads were flat, they had no brains at all;
To them the barber passed the wink, his dexter eyelid shut,
"I'll make this bloomin' yokel think his bloody throat is cut."
And as he soaped and rubbed it in he made a rude remark: "I s'pose the flats is pretty green up there in Ironbark."
A grunt was all reply he got; he shaved the bushmans chin, Then made the water boiling hot and dipped the razor in.
He raised his hand, his brow grew black, he paused a while to gloat,
Then slashed the red-hot razor-back across his victims throat;
Upon the newly-shaven skin it made a livid mark-
No doubt it fairly took him in-the man from Ironbark.
He fetched a wild up-country yell might wake the dead to hear,
And though his throat he knew full well, was cut from ear to ear,
He struggled gamely to his feet, and faced the murderous foe.
"You've done for me! you dog, I'm beat! one hit before I go!
I only wish I had a knife, you blessed murdering shark!
But you'll remember all your life the man from Ironbark."
He lifted up his hairy paw, with one tremendous clout
He landed on the barber's jaw, and knocked the barber out.
He set to work with tooth and nail, he made the place a wreck;
He grabbed the nearest gilded youth, and tried to break his neck.
And all the while his throat he held to save his vital spark,
And "Murder! Bloody Murder!" yelled the man from Ironbark.
A peeler man who hear the din came in to see the show;
He tried to run the bushman in, but he refused to go.
And when at last the barber spoke, and said "'Twas all in fun-
'Twas just a little harmless joke, a trifle overdone."
"A joke!" he cried, "By George, that's fine; a lively sort of lark;
I'd like to catch that murdering swine some night in Ironbark."
And now while round the shearing-floor the listening shearers gape,
He tells the story o'er and o'er, and brags of his escape.
"Them barber chaps what keeps a tote, By George, I've had enough,
One tried to cut my my bloomin' throat, but thank the Lord it's tough."
And whether he's believed or no, there's one thing to remark,
That flowing beards are all the go way up in Ironbark.
Leadfoot,
If you retained what you read and you've visited here with some degree of regularity you might have noticed that I've commented repeatedly about the absurdity of the Pledge of Allegiance. I've noted quite often that the Founding Fathers and their successors for 110 years didn't have a Pledge and that the words "under God" didn't get stuffed in until 1954 when DDE was pandering for re-election and burnishing his anti-Communist godlessness credentials. Actions demonstrate patriotism not recitation of words.
As for what true patriotism is about, I'm intimately familiar with all aspects of the elephant. The Light Brigade may be one of the few military forces in history to suffer higher loss rates than the F-105 force in Rolling Thunder.
As for your knowledge of Lee, it appears you must be reading O'Reilly's excellent new book, "Killing Lincoln" which offers an excellent account of the final days of the war.
Actually Ed I've been a military history Buff since I was about 8 years old. Being an AF Brat who loved go to the base library which was full of books on the subject was a good start.
Have not read the O'Reilly Book. Just always admired and respectd ole Bobby Lee.
So why did you blast a Gold Star Widow for not wanting her child to say the pledge. Keep in mind that unlike Commissioned Officers once our enlistment ends we are full 100% civilians. Nothing to resign from. Oh I always quietly skip over the good part when I'm at a ceremony where its said
As for the loss rate are you talking planes or pilots? WWII Submariners both US and German were pretty high and so was the
8th AF Aircrew losses. I'd like to see the numbers on the F105 aircrews before I accept that. Not meaning to disrespect those who were lost with the Q
You are making stuff up again Leadfoot. A "Gold Star" widow has lost a husband in combat. That credential did not apply to the "veteran" mother. Regardless of whether it did or not, it is irrelevant to the issue of state law being ignored by the school district and when they decide to comply protesting obedience to law.
Further, her rationale that somehow this had something to do with her late husband's citizenship was nearly as inane as your usual statements here.
OK Leadfoot, lets see your war record. You want to post here and then question Eds' Patriotism, let's all hear what you have done for your country. Being a "War History Buff" sure doesn't make you a patriot in my book. Most of us, I'm sure, come to this site because we have read Ed's books and we respect what the man has to say. Do I aree with everything he posts here? No, but I don't post to contradict everythings he says either. This time I really think you're showing your ass. You imply that you were Air Force enlisted. I'm going to guess that you were one of the few that went in for the educational benifits with no real thought of serving your country. I met some of these in my 6 years in the Army. They always did just enough to get by, forever bitching about everything they had to do. You also say that Enlisted are 100% civilian on thier release(like Ed didn't know this) True, but like most of the people I served with, that is something I will carry with me and be proud of and uphold my entire life. If you were Air Force enlisted, I can just about bet that you never got shot at. I know a little about what it must have taken for Ed to strap that airplane to his ass and go back up to Route Pack 6. Although I missed my war in the Army(Cold War, thank God the balloon never went up on that one. which WE won, by the way. no thanks to your type.) I did spend 5 1/2 years in Iraq hauling fuel for the US military as a Contractor.(Was the money good? Yes. Was it all about the money? NO!) Back in '05 and '06 we went almost every night to places where we KNEW we were going to get shot up,RPGed or IEDed. I know it was nothing at all like Hanoi, but it does give you a new found respect for people like Ed that have been there. Like I say Leadfoot, I'm waiting for you to put your money where your mouth is.
I reread the story and you may in all likelihood be correct that she is not a gold star widow. Wonder why Fox News won't say why he died? Coyuldn't find a reason on the net either.
Actually it appears it's the global nature of the school that has her Irish up on the issue.
@hitman.
I served in USAF from June 75-81. Other than the Iranian hostage crisis there was no Military action by US Armed forces during that time period that I recall. I spent my time fixing radios at Williams AFB AZ. If I mention to someone that I'm a veteran I usually make the point that I wasn't at the tip of the spear but was back at the factory making spears.
I'd like to see where I said my interest in Military History made me a patriot. I don't recall that. Although like the President I don't like anyone questioning my Patriotism or love of country just because I have different views.
As for Ed I just question his logic not his patriotism. Ed's a superpatriot and one of the smartest guys on the planet so I like being contrary with him. I would agree that both actions and whats in the heart are more important than sayingthe Pledge so I found his post on a Widow who happens to be a an USAF vet a little odd with the statement he made in the above. I'll also bet the reporter is making a big deal about her being a vet and not the widow. But hey he's with Faux News, right?
As for his Argument about it being law it appears that there are several 1st amendment cases saying you can't force the pledge on schoolchildren ergo the school district doesn't have to obey an unconsttutional law. Look up Pledge of allegiance on wikipedia
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