THE COLLECTED POEMS OF HENRIK IBSEN Translated by John ...

106
Does hold some significance, —
And if you’re the least bit partial,
I shall briefly document
More or less how that was meant;
Clear as day, my explanation: —
So, to business, no evasion:
This, the age we occupy,
Is a time of martial passion,
Wherein lies the reason why
Soldiers are so much in fashion;
But, — not fortress shelling purely,
Not manoeuvres by the score, —
Strife within the mind as surely
Merits too the name of war.
Every soul on earth existing
Is a rookie or old sweat;
One in Cupid’s host enlisting,
One to the Muses’ banneret;
Why, the dames of whom I prattle
Proved in real life calls to battle, —
Though their field’s not teeming really
With the dead, but — captives merely.
But the lesson to be found
In the martial jests provided
Is: the man of strife’s not bound
To the life that’s sober-sided,
Thoughts should turn, this time of year,
Joyfully to Yule’s bright cheer; —
Only with high spirits’ backing
Are jokes-martial worth the cracking.
TO THE ONE AND ONLY
The ballroom’s bedecked and resplendent,
Dancing is under way.
In colourful groups the young ladies
Swirl in their bright array.
Loud from the band beguiling
Tunes in massed legions flow.
Each man wears a festive expression,
Each lamp wears a festive glow.
And listen to all the flirting,
The whispers, discreet and kind,
About the first thing one can think of,
Whatever may cross one’s mind.
And slyly she smiles, does the lady,