The Major galloped rapidly across the field of battle
On his trusty horse Berry Hall
Captain January is at it again what a crazy fellow he is
He is no longer a captain
He is a Major now
What is he doing?
He is drawing the shell fire away from our trenches
So that we may regroup
He is still a crazy fellow
I think he likes the war
He treats it as a kind of sport
A shell landed near a stricken farm fence
For an instant the Major’s horse was blinded
But it ran bravely through the acrid smoke
And soon it was jumping the broken obstruction
His father was just as mad
Served during the African wars
Still riding even with a spear wound in his side
Too old for this war otherwise he would have been out there with his son
That is what distinguishes this country above all others
The Major let his horse trot calmly through
No Man’s Land
He was looking for Andromeda
But she had already been devoured by a sea monster
The author recently found a postcard taken from a painting of Andromeda in a book of military paintings