firing-line, nor bear its hellish brunt—
But where'd they be if it weren't for us, workers behind the scenes?

Book-keeper, paymaster, spectacled clerk,
Doing our bit, though it's every day work—
We're all of us part of The Service!

We're the backwash whirl of the pool of War gathering in the men,
We cannot fight as others fight, though just as loyal and true;
We're the silent corps of the Men Behind, over and over again
Doing our part in the war for Right, small though it seem to you.

Figuring, checking-up, testing all day,
Knowing no hours—and not too much pay—
We're all of us part of The Service.

If it takes ten men behind the front to put one on the Line,
(We all remember the speech that cheers the backwash, anyhow!)
We're putting them there—and do not ask for furloughs.... That's a sign
We're not the guests of the Government—we're in The Service now.

A cog in the big machine? Maybe—
But a cog that doesn't complain, you see—
We're all of us part of The Service!

THE DISAPPOINTED

There's a Red Cross Button on his left lapel,
And a Liberty Bond pin on his right;
There's a U. S. flag above the Red Cross, too;
His patriotism's never out of sight!
His loyalty is spread on his hollow breast
(And sometimes he's pathetic, I confess),
But the button that he's most ashamed to wear
Is the one that reads

There's an aching heart in his 28-chest,
There's a look of deep longing in his eyes;
Behind his heavy glasses there gleams a hope
That maybe he can grow an inch in size!
There's a hero-throb in the heart of that boy,
Though he wears too much "scenery"—ah, yes!—
But the badge that hurts he really tries to hide—
It's the one that reads

You fellows that are in—have a heart for those
Who want to be, but can't! For they must know
A bitterness of soul you can never feel—
They haven't got a chance on earth to go!
So it's, "Stay back home with the old and unfit,"
(There's nothing else to do but that, I guess!)
The badge he'd be glad to throw a mile away
Is the one that reads

GOODBYE, BOYS!

Line after line, you swung along,
You men, who only a while ago
Were just a part of the city's throng
Working for self, sedate and slow.
But now—what a diff'rence! Living throbs
Of the Nation's heart! Her reborn men;
And some who saw you gulped back sobs—
And wished you were marching home again!
Our eyes were dim as you went past,
For we knew you—at last!

We felt that every senseless joke
About a soldier, wherever made,
Would make us ashamed.... For now we choke
Whenever the Colors and you parade!
Wherever that O. D. uniform
Shall gladden the eyes of we useless men
We can't forget who is meeting the storm—
That some of you won't come home again!
You went.... We talked.... God blot the past!
For we know you—at last!

THAT'S ALL

To take this trouble seriously,
But not to gloom or whine;
To never overestimate
Our strength, or to decline
To see this is no picnic,
But do our earnest part
With brain and muscles, newly trained—
To keep a steady heart!

To fight, but not to lower
Our standards in the dust;
To meet a savage enemy
Whose words the world can't trust.
To guard our foolish tempers—
Or keep them out of sight!
To never falter, doubt, or fear
The outcome will be right!

To laugh—whenever laughter
Is best to keep us fit;
To shake hands with privation
When face to face with it.
To give without complaining
Or boasting what we give;
To make this world a safer world
For those who have to live!

To part with old traditions
That hampered in the past;
To see that heart-wrung "aliens"
As enemies aren't classed,
But treated—while deserving it—
As human beings, too;

* * * * *

Just to be clean—in mind and soul—
That's all we have to do!

AN AMERICAN CREED

Straight thinking,
Straight talking,
Straight doing,
And a firm belief in the might of right.

Patience linked with patriotism,
Justice added to kindliness,
Uncompromising devotion to this country,
And active, not passive, Americanism.

To talk less, to mean more,
To complain less, to accomplish more,
And to so live that every one of us is ready to
look Eternity in the face at any moment, and
be unafraid!