"Harvest of Death" Matthew Brady Studios"Grass"
by Carl Sandburg (1878 - 1967)
- PILE the bodies high at Austerlitz and Waterloo,
- Shovel them under and let me work--
- I am the grass; I cover all.
-
- And pile them high at Gettysburg
- And pile them high at Ypres and Verdun.
- Shovel them under and let me work.
- Two years, ten years, and passengers ask the conductor:
- What place is this?
- Where are we now?
-
- I am the grass.
- Let me work.
(I believe that a patch of grass might be the only fitting monument for a grunt)
This poem was written by Stephanos, a Flag Sergeant (equivelant to a First Sergeant by today's ranking) in the service of Alexander in Afghanistan. It is inscribed on a stone stele by a mass grave of Macedonian soldiers who had recently been killed by Bactrian raiders. It still stands today.
In the company of soldiers
I have no need to explain myself
In the company of soldiers
everybody understands.
In the company of soldiers,
I don't have to pretend to be the person I'm not
Or strike that pose, however well-intended, that is expected
by those who have not known me under arms.
In the company of soldiers all my crimes are forgiven
I am safe
I am known
I am home
In the company of soldiers.
327 B.C.E.
Now, go barbeque and shit like that.
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