Crouch Together

With all the Cossacks gone, the Hussars still,
The wheels of the artillery in shards,
And battlefields abandoned to the bards,
We'll crouch together just below the hill
In holes the enemy forgot to fill,
Remembering our own brave Savoyards.
Call in the infantry, call out the guards,
Whisper our names to keep away the chill.

These deep, wet ditches will be good enough
To hide in, till we die — but not alone,
We'll crouch together, craving the unknown —
Come, Hotspur, Roland, Sohrab, Kong, Macduff,
Sit with us underneath this quiet bluff,
Remembering each friend, each exposed bone.

This Week, in Balloons

I'm coming back on Tuesday's train. Be there.
I'm bringing back a piece of London sky
That fell on me one sunny afternoon.
It came upon me, hurtling through the air
At speeds fantastic; first I heard a cry;
I heard a busker playing on a tune
That I had heard somewhere before, I think.
Be waiting for me, please. I'll need a drink.

Such strange things seem to happen on my trips.
They never seem to happen, though, to you.
My life has sprung up from the comic strips,
While yours is real. I don't know what to do.
I had the answers at my fingertips —
That is, until my fingertips turned blue.