Monday, August 13, 2012

Edward "Foghorn" Funston



Edward “Foghorn” Funston


“I was just
turned twenty-one”
—Edgar Lee Masters
“Harry Wilmans,”
Spoon River Anthology
___________________

When Teddy Roosevelt made—
A speech in Bindle’s Opera House, 
He was saying that “The honor of 
The flag must be upheld,” and that
“Whether it be assailed by a bunch
Of barbarous tribes of Tagalogs
Or the greatest power in Europe!”
And we cheered and cheered and
Waved as he spoke, so that the
Next thing I knew I was off to war
In spite of my father, and I was
Following the flag till I saw it raised
By our camp in a rice field near Manila,
And all of us cheered and cheered,
Even tho there were lots of flies and 
Poisonous things, plus deadly water,
And the cruel heat, and the sickening, 
Putrid food that make me wanna puke,
And the smell of the trenches just back 
Of the tents where the soldiers went to 
Empty themselves out, and there were 
The whores who followed us, full of 
Syphilis and beastly acts between 
ourselves or alone, with bullying, hate,
Degradation among us, and days of self-
Loathing and nights of fear in the jungle,
Useless hours of charging through the 
Steaming swamps, following the flag,
Till I fell with a scream, shot thru the guts,
Now there’s a flag over me Maplewood
Cemetery. A flag! A flag! A fucking flag!



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