Rhymes of the Rookies | Page 6

call--for country's sake--
For Liberty he will not stake


His bit, nor will he ever be
But half a man. Not he--not he.
His
formula contains no sand--
It's plain, he is the Slacker "Brand."
A sneak--a snake--a cur--a blasted
Dirty rotten scourge, dodgasted

Coward, thief, and all the rest--
Can't spell the name that suits the best.

There's just one place for such as he--
Not on the earth--eternity.
PREPAREDNESS
I never had no warlike mind,
I b'long to the plowin' peaceful kind

Thet stays at home and works along,
Sun to sun--I'm good and
strong---
But, neighbor, let me speak my mind:
When my country
sez to back her,
Sez I back: "Here ain't no slacker,"
So walks up
thar and signs the roll,
Come June the first, thirty-one year ole,

Now Uncle Sammy can call Bill Jones
Jest any ole time they say,

'Cause yisterday I gits insured,
And jined the church today.
I hates to leave the old home-folks,
They hates to see me go,
But I'd
rather tote a rifle,
Than be shoulderin' a hoe.
When Uncle Sammy's
needin' men--
And needin' 'em so much,
I 'lows how he can call on
Bill,
To help 'im lick them Dutch.
For preacher sez: "God will
protect
Me out thar," so, then, by Heck!
I am all O.K.
'Cause
yisterday I gits insured,
And jined the church today.
The paper 'lows the fightin's bad,
As awful as can be--
Guns
a-roarin'--blood a-flowin'--
And boats belo' thet sea.
But I'm
ready--and I ain't a-feered
To die--if they do git me.
'Cause I ain't
no skunking slacker,
If I am a "Georgia cracker,"
And if I don't
come home no more,

The wolf won't come to my house door,
I am
goin' when they say,
'Cause yisterday I gits insured,
And jined the
church today.
"BEANS"
A dog there lived in many towns,
And he has wondrous wiles;
He

travels in the Philippines,
And visits many isles.
"Ubiquitous" should be his name,
He's seen so many scenes,
But all
his soldier friends prefer
To call him simply: "Beans"!
As a proper, first class passenger,
Is "Beans" name on ship's log;

You'd think his name was pedigreed--
The way he "puts on dog"!
Yet he is not a full blood pup,
But just a "yellow cur":
A
"Nervy-Natty Gentleman"--
With all his fuzzy fur.
He chows awhile at Grande Isle;
And there he'll make a stay,
Until
he tires of their mess;
Then promptly sails away.
He'll take a boat down Subic Bay,
To far Olongapo,
And when
things get monotonous,
Then "Beans" is prompt-to-go!
He goes o'er to Corregidor,
And visits "C. A. C."
And if he don't
like visiting--
He merely sails the sea!
He visits Fort McKinley,
And Cavite, too;
Now, where Beans has
not been, forsooth,
I wish I only knew.
I know that all the sailors,
And all the soldier men
Do call him
"Beans," and love him
For he is their dandy friend.
He wags his tail in greeting,
And barks at friends with joy;
But
when his ship's a-sailing,
For Beans, it's Ship-A-hoy!
So here's to "Beans" old "Sea-dog,"
Who loves so well to roam;
I
wish he'd try to settle down
And make our place his home.
ADVICE
Better start in soldiering and mind your P's and Q's,
Cut out going
absent and ease up on the booze,
Don't kick because, you're on

fatigue, but mind what you are about, For the Summary Court will get
you
if
you
don't
watch
out.
Don't go a-missing reveille; and be in bed by check,
Don't buck
against the captain, or you'll get it in the neck. Be sure to turn out
promptly when you hear the sergeant shout, For the Summary Court
will get you
if
you
don't
watch
out.
Because you've got some service don't think you know it all, You'll get
your extras just the same if you should miss a call. Take what they
hand you weekly. Don't grumble, frown or pout. For the Summary
Court will get you
if
you
don't
watch
out.
THE SCENT OF THE COCOA
You have heard of the ancient incense;
Of the dew of Hermann
you've read;
You have been told of the precious ointment
That
poured down on Aaron's head;
But tell me--with all your knowledge,

Your theory, study and toil,
Have you heard of an equal or sequel

To the scent of the cocoanut oil?
At first it is always repulsive,
Makes you gag and back off in despair;

But when you've got the scent of the cocoa,
Just a scent, a mere
whiff in the air,
Then you're gone, boy, yes, and forever,
Where'er
in this world you may roam;
When you once get the scent of the
cocoa
You forget all the precepts of home.
You forget those most noble teachings
Of fortitude, temperance and
truth
When you once get the scent of the cocoa.
You're gone, boy,
gone and forsooth
Though you try hard and strive to recover,
Pray
to God and his angels as well,
If you've once got the scent of the
cocoa
You're destined--your future is Hell.
But why should you be predestined
By the scent of an innocent oil?

When you once get the scent of the cocoa
No more can you break

from its toil
Than a gambler can break from his ventures,
The
drunkard turn away from his rye.
When you once get the scent of the
cocoa
The longing is there till you die.
The great world at large doesn't know