Dawn Drums, by Robert Walton

Terracotta Army: Pension Building Frieze, by Caspar Buberl (Germany) 1887. Photograph by Rob Ketcherside. (CC BY-NC-SA 2.0)

​Dawn Drums 
 
They march again to war,
Sniffling, shuffling, voices muffled,  
Through dawn's uncertain door
 
Youth and man, rich and poor,
Through campfires' smothered smokes
They march again to war,
 
From college, farm and store
They carry loaded muskets
Through dawn's uncertain door
 
Damp drums tapping, four by four,
Meadow mists like ghosts ahead,
They march again to war
 
Black cannon mouths, fresh gore,
Shattered limbs and death await
Through dawn's uncertain door
 
Flags yet furled
And bayonets sheathed,
They march again to war
Through dawn's uncertain door

Robert Walton

This poem was first published at Classical Poets.
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​This poem was inspired by a different but related relief by Caspar Buberl, which can be viewed here.
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Robert Walton is a retired middle school teacher and lifelong rock climber with many ascents in the Sierras and Pinnacles National Park. His writing about climbing has appeared in the Sierra Club's Ascent. His publishing credits include works of science fiction, fantasy and poetry. He also worked as a newspaper columnist for a time.His historical novel Dawn Drums won the 2014 New Mexico Book Awards Tony Hillerman Prize for best fiction, first place in the 2014 Arizona Authors competition and first place in the historical fiction category of the 2017 Readers Choice Awards. Most recently, his SF short story “Starbuck Billy” was published in Alien Dimensions. Please visit his website for more information about him: http://chaosgatebook.wordpress.com/