BY SCARLET TORCH AND BLADE
And the suckers and the peckers and the flickers and the wrens,
And the buzzards and the finches and the cocks and pheasant-hens,
And the jays and bees and skeeters and the gnats and dragon-flies
Have saved their skins and feathers for they're fairly weather-wise.
But woe betide the crawling things and heaven help the mark
For every wriggly worm that rides the earth or bores the bark;
And every caterpillar—and a caterpillar's hairs
Can get as badly frizzled as a big, brown furry bear's;
And woe betide the silly squirrels who for a refuge run
Far up the blazing trees because it's what they've always done.
And may the blessed Jesus save all souls of mortal men
Who perish in that fiery maze, walled in their smothering pen,
Like those they found near Jefferson upon the mountain side,
Who strangled there near Jefferson—with fingers clenched they died.
And the buzzards and the finches and the cocks and pheasant-hens,
And the jays and bees and skeeters and the gnats and dragon-flies
Have saved their skins and feathers for they're fairly weather-wise.
But woe betide the crawling things and heaven help the mark
For every wriggly worm that rides the earth or bores the bark;
And every caterpillar—and a caterpillar's hairs
Can get as badly frizzled as a big, brown furry bear's;
And woe betide the silly squirrels who for a refuge run
Far up the blazing trees because it's what they've always done.
And may the blessed Jesus save all souls of mortal men
Who perish in that fiery maze, walled in their smothering pen,
Like those they found near Jefferson upon the mountain side,
Who strangled there near Jefferson—with fingers clenched they died.
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