Tuesday, January 20, 2026

Combat Patrol on the Borders of the Empire - poem

  

Lawrence Hall

Mhall46184@aol.com

Dispatches for the Colonial Office

LogoSophia Magazine – A Pilgrim's Journal of Life, Literature and Love

Home - Hello Poetry

 

Combat Patrol on the Borders of the Empire

 

 

There were nasty people in the army; but…[e]very few days one seemed to meet a scholar, an original, a poet, a cheery buffoon, a raconteur, or at least a man of good will.

 

-C. S. Lewis, “Guns and Good Company,” Surprised by Joy

 

 

Muffle-armored like Heinlein’s starship troopers

What attributes of civilization

Can the soldiers of our armies carry

Carefully tucked into their pockets and packs:

 

Paperback poets, math reviews, Miss January

Letters from home, a Rosary, a Testament

A naughty little short-timer calendar

A creased photograph of someone special

 

What do young soldiers carry with them

When they are ordered to suppress

 

Their fellow Americans

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   Lawrence Hall Mhall46184@aol.com Dispatches for the Colonial Office LogoSophia Magazine – A Pilgrim's Journal of Life, Literature and...