I.
Today is the first day of our glorious campaign. We ship out at dawn. It is now 4 a.m. and I am writing by the light of the lamp you sent with me. It is cold now and dark. In an hour, the sun will rise and we will sail for the wine-dark hills of that distant continent.

To confess truy, I am nervous. I am nervous to leave the green fields of home and embark towards that barbarous far coast. I have heard that the practices of the inhabitants where we shall land are distinctly un-christian. Ha ha. Is that a joke to you as well? I cannot tell at this sicky hour, by this sickly light, in my sicklied-over heart.

It is not yet dawn but the men are stirring. Perhaps they have spent as sleepless a night as I have. I must now wear my brave lieutenant's face.

By God! the number of men! We shall hit them with the force of Heaven's army. I cannot think but that we will be victorious. Only victory can sit in my heart and mind: for the crown, for the men, for me, for you.

Our majestic empire goes now to light that dark and blighted land. I must go with it. Remember me and keep me in your prayers. Write soon and let me know that all is well at home!

II.

Though you have asked for good news
from home,
I fear I cannot give it,
For how can I say "all is well,"
When you are off at war?

Though you have asked for good news
from home
I can see no goodness
Nor feel no goodness in my heart
In the shadow of your absence.

Please do not despair at these
sad words;
You knew your bride was melancholy.
But, without you here, I must admit
I find life hard.

Enough gloom,
Let me tell you of small things:

The sun still rises in the morn
Over the house we have built.
Our bills are all paid.
There are always chores to do.
My mother visits frequently;
She worries for you, too
(She always was a worrier).
There are lillies in the field,
Orange and red, which are quite beautiful.
The lawn is mown by a neighbor boy
As I am in no condition.
The clock still spins its hands.
The calendar marks the days.
The moon controls my nights
Whilst you are gone.
I can feel it pulling me
Like a tide.
Your child is nearly come.

Ah! There we have some good news
at last.
I hope that it may comfort you
Even in that perilous land
Where you carry out your duty to the crown.

Let me assure you you are in
my thoughts.
You are my only thought
And every prayer I pray at night
Is for your safe and swift return.

Let me assure you you are in
my thoughts.
Let me assure you of my love for you.
Let me assure you all is well.
This is my good news from home.

III.

A fortnight we have been upon the soil
of our enemies' dark, terrible con-
tinent. So far all is quiet but I doubt
we can anticipate this happy state
to hold. The docile actions of our foes
'till now, I think must be some deadly trap.
Now we have driven them into the hills
above their towns, which we now occupy
and banners of our homeland proudly wave
and flash their bright tri-color far and wide
for all on this dark continent to see.
Our generals in most part take this as
a sign that our job here is nearly done;
the fearsome reputation of this land's
heathen warriors they all now dismiss
as stuff of stories used to scare young babes
in nursuries at night and nothing more.
But still I have my fears, though I'm no child.
No puking baby I; I am a man
and not just man but ranking officer,
so do not think my apprehension false,
for I've seen these savages at work.
Wih my own eyes, I've seen their crafty looks
of wicked cunning as they feigned to fall
before our too-sure army's mighty push.
Yes, I say "feighned" and feigned is what I mean.
Their warriors are too proud to let us win
without a fight and they would never yield
their homes to us without spilling our blood.
I am as sure of this as of your love.
But do not worry, though my words are fear-
ful. I do not mean to frighten you undu-
ly. Though I'm sure the fighting's far from done
despite our generals' premature assur-
ance, I am also sure we'll win this war,
though not as eas'ly as we now suppose,
for we have not grown idle though our vict'ry
does seem assured. Our regiments remain
quite active and we drill them ev'ry day.
And I especially won't let those sol-
diers rest whose exercises I command.
When battle comes, for come again it will,
my soldiers to the man will be prepared.
Our situation is precarious, true,
but our great empire never shall succomb.
My thoughts are with my unborn child and you;
I swear I'll see you when this war is won.
I must go. I have soldiers to prepare!
Please write back soon and tell me how you fare.

IV.

On reading your last letter, I took ill
With worry and I laid in bed for days,
For though my mind still tells me you are well,
It is my heart my body now obeys.

Don't be dismayed; I'm only sick at heart
And healthily your unborn child grows on,
But still your presence pricks me like a dart
of poison tip each empty day you're gone.

On your return, my heart will be at ease.
When you've come back to me from that dark land,
Then with our child, we'll stroll beneath the trees,
But all this waiting's more than I can stand.

Oh, please give comfort to my heart and mind.
Come back to love and leave your war behind!

V.

This morning at dawn, they poured down from the hills,
thousands of them, howling and hell-bent for battle.
We were surrounded in the village we'd made our home.
At the sight of their numbers, we were chilled in our blood.
Our bravest generals knew fear as a child
knows fear. Our men, trembling, clutched the banners of our empire

But despite our fear, we were prepared to defend our empire
and drive them like animals back into the hills.
We were ready to slaughter man, woman and child,
for they send all of their citizens to battle.
Their nursing mothers ween infants with blood,
as they are not civilized as we are at home.

When we took up our arms, it was to defend you at home
so no such inhuman practices shoud infect our empire.
And with this thought, we let out a blood-
curdling scream, which echoed through the hills.
They sent their first warrior into battle;
he was a proud and dusky-skinned child

of their chieftan, but he was not a child
as we would think could be born a thome.
He was already a fierce warrior, cunning and battle-
hardened, of the kind we who fought for the empire
feared may be dwelling in those dangerous hills.
I fired a shot, drawing his blood.

His tribesmen stood amazed, watching as blood
poured from a hole in the breast of the chieftan's child.
As he fell, the warriors who had come down from the hills
to drive us from the village they called home
found new fury in their wrath against our might empire
and decended upon us to engage in battle.

Untill well after sundown, we were locked in battle.
Many men fell, I have never seen such volume of blood,
and most of those fallen were men of our empire.
I am fallen, too -- I was felled by the father of the child
I had shot and now I fear that I will never see home
but will be burried in these curs'd foriegn hills.

So I shout to the hills, "God save our empire
which sends its men to battle and shed blood
and stole me from my home, my wife and my child!"

VI.

Never has a mother's heart
known such deep sorrow.
Your child was born dead.

VII.
Though I am not dead
I sincerely wish it
But our skillful doctors
Have kept me quick
So I live on
In body and blood
As it stands
I am returning to you
Less an arm, less a leg
Lacking one eye
The one which saw faith
I come back to you
And the green fields of home
Watered with the blood
Of young men and infants
I am returning to you
The empire is done with me
I come back to you
And the green fields
Where the body of our son
Will lay with my bones