University of Virginia Library

Every plant is yellow ;
Every day we march .
Every man is moving about ,
Doing service in some quarter of the kingdom .

Every plant is purple ;
Every man is torn from his wife .
Alas for us employed on these expeditions !
How are we alone dealt with as if we were not men ?

We are not rhinoceroses , we are not tigers ,
To be kept in these desolate wilds .
Alas for us employed on these expeditions !
Morning and night we have no leisure .

The long-tailed foxes ,
May keep among the dark grass .
And our box-carts ,
Keep moving along the great roads .