Enigmatic Mirror
The Charge of the FARMS Brigade
Half a page, half a page,
Half a page onward,
All in the valley of Death
wrote the FARMS scholars.
“Forward the FARMS Brigade!
Charge Signature!” he said.
Into the valley of Death
Wrote the FARMS scholars.
“Forward, the FARMS Brigade!”
Was there a man dismay’d?
Not tho’ the scholars knew
Some one had blunder’d.
Theirs was to make reply,
Theirs not to reason why,
Theirs but to do and die.
Into the valley of Death
Wrote the FARMS scholars.
Bradford to right of them,
’Postates to left of them,
Leakers in front of them
Bullied and slandered;
Storm’d at with shot and shell,
Boldly they wrote and well,
Into the jaws of Death,
Into the mouth of hell
Wrote the FARMS scholars.
Flash’d all their journals bare,
Flash’d all their memos fair
Sabring critics there,
Charging apostates, while
All the world wonder’d.
With an acrostic joke
Right thro’ the line they broke;
Sunstoned apostates
Reel’d from the review-stroke
Shatter’d and sunder’d.
Then they rode back, but not,
Not the FARMS scholars.
Bradford to right of them,
’Postates to left of them,
Leakers behind them
Bullied and slandered;
Storm’d at with shot and shell,
While Dan and Louie fell,
They that had fought so well
Came thro’ the jaws of Death,
Back from the mouth of hell,
All that was left of them,
Left of FARMS scholars.
When can their glory fade?
O the wild books they made!
All the church wonder’d.
Honor the charge they made!
Honor the FARMS Brigade,
Noble FARMS scholars!
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