Classic Poem

Together men faced the mammoth,
Together men stood to fight,
Together knew life and glory,
Together met death and night
And because they stood together,
For the safety of the whole,
Courage and comradeship were born —
The ancient army's soul.

While, all the years, poor, weak, dull-eyed, alone,
The men who toiled, toiled on, each for his own.

The army was rich with banners,
The uniforms gay with gold.
To music the charge rushed headlong,
To music their steps were told
They were strong in their conscious numbers,
They were led by a clear command,
And the glory of each was glory
Because all could understand.

Bannerless, silent, in ignoble dress,
Men toiled, alone, in dim confused distress.

Yet the deeds of the army with banners
Were of slaughter and pain and strife,
While the deeds of the bannerless lonely men
Keep all the world in life
Some day they will see that their work is one,
In the service of the whole —
Then the standards rise and the music cries,
And the army finds its soul.