When first I doffed my olive drab,
I thought, delightfully though mutely,
"Henceforth I shall have pleasure ab-
Solutely."
Dull with the drudgery of war,
Sick of the name of fighting,
I yearned, I thought, for something more
Exciting.
The rainbow be my guide, quoth I;
My suit shall be a brave and proud one
Gay-hued my socks; and oh, my tie
A loud one.
For me the theater and the dance;
Primrose the path I would be wending;
For me the roses of romance
Unending.
Those were my inner thoughts that day
(And those of many another million)
When once again I should be a
Civilian.
I would not miss the o.d.;
(Monotony I didn't much like)
I would not miss the reveille,
And such the like.
I don't . . . And do I now enjoy
My walks along the primrose way so?
Is civil life the life? Oh, boy,
I'll say so.