 | [Poems by Kilmer in] Memories of my son Sergeant Joyce Kilmer |  |
20
To An Adventurous Infant
On Her Birthday, August 1915
“England,” she said, “is surely England yet;
Therefore it is the place where I should be.
In spite of war, I know that tea is tea,
A vinaigrette is still a vinaigrette.”
Therefore it is the place where I should be.
In spite of war, I know that tea is tea,
A vinaigrette is still a vinaigrette.”
“Why should I worry over Wilhelm's threat?”
And thereupon she said goodbye to me,
And gaily sailed across the dangerous sea,
To where, among the Zeppelins, tea was set.
And thereupon she said goodbye to me,
And gaily sailed across the dangerous sea,
To where, among the Zeppelins, tea was set.
What if the sea foam mountainously high
With waves that had in Hell their fiery birth?
What if black peril hover in the sky,
And bursting shell wound deep the trembling earth?
All evil things must harmlessly pass by
He who doth bear the talisman of Mirth.
With waves that had in Hell their fiery birth?
What if black peril hover in the sky,
And bursting shell wound deep the trembling earth?
All evil things must harmlessly pass by
He who doth bear the talisman of Mirth.
| [Poems by Kilmer in] Memories of my son Sergeant Joyce Kilmer | |