The Two Soldiers

Just at the corner of the wall

We met - yes, he and I -

Who had not faced in camp or hall

Since we bade home good-bye,

And what once happened came back - all -

Out of those years gone by.

And that strange woman whom we knew

And loved - long dead and gone,

Whose poor half-perished residue,

Tombless and trod, lay yon!

But at this moment to our view

Rose like a phantom wan.

And in his fixed face I could see,

Lit by a lurid shine,

The drama re-enact which she

Had dyed incarnadine

For us, and more. And doubtless he

Beheld it too in mine.

A start, as at one slightly known,

And with an indifferent air

We passed, without a sign being shown

That, as it real were,

A memory-acted scene had thrown

Its tragic shadow there.

-o0o-