Reflections of my patron saint
by
Anthony M. Ludovici
The New Age 23, 1918, p. 48
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When the stag with his antlers gets caught in his foe's,
And the two die enlocked amid plump browsing does;
When the lion, the ape, and the nimble gazelle
Lose their lives for their loves in a brief taste of hell;
They tear muscle from bone as in combat they close;
For the male for his female must pay through the nose.
When with assegai, arrow, or bludgeon he goes,
From the forest or jungle, to battle with those
Who have rivalled his claims in a fair maiden's heart,
The young savage invokes, ere he ventures to start,
All the blessings of parent and priest; for he knows
That the male for his female must pay through the nose.
When the civilised citizen tries to dispose
In his favour the heart of a Mary or Rose,
And her family waits till he's able to bring
Some just claim to indulge his warm passion of Spring,
A life's care is the minimum term they impose;
For the male for his female must pay through the nose.
And when war breaks upon us, and precious blood flows,
And the youth of the world reels beneath its own blows,
And it's "Over the top!" with your last very breath,
While the blue-heavened thunder sows honor and death;
Then the mud of the battlefield hugs your last throes;
For the male for his female must pay through the nose. |
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