Page:Some soldier poets.djvu/45

Rh England in June attire

And life born young again

For your gay goatish brute. ..

Lips dark with juicy stain,

Ears hung with bobbing fruit?

Why should I keep him time?

Why in this cold and rime,

Where even to dream is pain?

No, Robert, there's no reason;

Cherries are out of season,

Ice grips at branch and root,

And singing birds are mute.

His range is from Strong Beer to Christ, but is rather of theme than of mood, another hint of a more set character. Here is some half-mystical nonsense on the temptation in the wilderness:

He confesses that even at trystings with a lady a third is always present.

THE SPOIL-SPORT

Rh