Classic Poem

Now that the King has no more need of me
I will devise a last farewell to arms,
And the great days of strength and chivalry,
Of battles and excursions and alarms.

My helmet now shall hang above my bed,
My pistol serve to scare birds from the grain,
And even my gas-mask stand me in good stead
Whenever I clean out the farmyard drain.

My lips, too, shall forget the soldier's curse
And deal in comfortable words again;
And I will strive in my campaigns of verse
To sing a song shall please my fellow men.

And Time, who has taken in trust my fighting days,
Shall lead me through the land of Well-and-Fair,
Up hill and down, along the broad highways,
Till the golden bowl breaks beyond all repair.