Classic Poem

The Prussian eagle in its eerie screamed,
And, from the sandy plains in war's array,
Dense hordes of stolid, boorish soldiers streamed
To meet the men of Rivoli that day;
The martial hosts yearning to smite and slay,
Stood there defiant with bare swords that gleamed,
And in calm, haughty insolence, they seemed
Like hungry condors watching for their prey.

The Titan fray began, and with disdain
The laureled grenadiers of France marched on,
Stern and majestic, through the bullets' rain,
Until the corpse-clogged field was nobly won.
While the astounded Vandals fled in vain
Before the cold sneer of Napoleon.