Columns

(MOBILE COLUMNS OF THE LATER WAR)


  Out o’ the wilderness, dusty an’ dry
    (_Time, an’ ’igh time to be trekkin’ again!_)
  ’Oo is it ’eads to the Detail Supply?
    (_A section, a pompom, an’ six ’undred men._)

  ’Ere comes the clerk with ’is lantern an’ keys
    (_Time, an’ ’igh time to be trekkin’ again!_)
  ‘Surplus of everything--draw what you please
    ‘_For the section, the pompom, an’ six ’undred men_.’

  ‘What are our orders an’ where do we lay?’
    (_Time, an’ ’igh time to be trekkin’ again!_)
  ‘You came after dark--you will leave before day,
    ‘_You section, you pompom, an’ six ’undred men!_’

  Down the tin street, ’alf awake an’ unfed,
  ’Ark to ’em blessin’ the Gen’ral in bed!
  Now by the church an’ the outspan they wind--
  Over the ridge an’ it’s all lef’ be’ind
    _For the section_, etc.

  Soon they will camp as the dawn’s growin’ grey,
  Roll up for coffee an’ sleep while they may--
    _The section_, etc.

  Read their ’ome letters, their papers an’ such,
  For they’ll move after dark to astonish the Dutch
    _With a section_, etc.

  ’Untin’ for shade as the long hours pass,
  Blankets on rifles or burrows in grass,
    _Lies the section_, etc.

  Dossin’ or beatin’ a shirt in the sun,
  Watching chameleons or cleanin’ a gun,
    _Waits the section_, etc.

  With nothin’ but stillness as far as you please,
  An’ the silly mirage stringin’ islands an’ seas
    _Round the section_, etc.

  So they strips off their hide an’ they grills in their bones,
  Till the shadows crawl out from beneath the pore stones
    _Towards the section_, etc.

  An’ the Mauser-bird stops an’ the jackals begin,
  An’ the ’orse-guard comes up and the Gunners ’ook in
    _As a ’int to the pompom an’ six ’undred men_....

  Off through the dark with the stars to rely on--
  (Alpha Centauri an’ somethin’ Orion)
    _Moves the section_, etc.

  Same bloomin’ ’ole which the ant-bear ’as broke,
  Same bloomin’ stumble an’ same bloomin’ joke
    _Down the section_, etc.

  Same ‘which is right?’ where the cart-tracks divide,
  Same ‘give it up’ from the same clever guide
    _To the section_, etc.

  Same tumble-down on the same ’idden farm,
  Same white-eyed Kaffir ’oo gives the alarm
    _Of the section_, etc.

  Same shootin’ wild at the end o’ the night,
  Same flyin’ tackle an’ same messy fight
    _By the section_, etc.

  Same ugly ’iccup an’ same ’orrid squeal,
  When it’s too dark to see an’ it’s too late to feel
    _In the section_, etc.

  (Same batch of prisoners, ’airy an’ still,
  Watchin’ their comrades bolt over the ’ill
    _From the section_, etc.)

  Same chilly glare in the eye of the sun
  As ’e gets up displeasured to see what was done
    _By the section_, etc.

  Same splash o’ pink on the stoep or the kraal,
  An’ the same quiet face which ’as finished with all
    _In the section, the pompom, an’ six ’undred men_.

  _Out o’ the wilderness, dusty an’ dry
    (Time, an’ ’igh time to be trekkin’ again!)
  ’Oo is it ’eads to the Detail Supply?
    (A section, a pompom, an’ six ’undred men.)_