Axis & Allies - damowords

Soldiersʹ Passions
The violet pepperʹd mountains turnʹd to snow,
In single file traversʹd the icy track,
Til at the pass an army stemmʹd their flow,
Five thousand Frenchmen pois’d for the attack;
The royal corps
Led by the loyal Ney,
Who tremblʹd as he saw that overcoat of grey.
He strode alone to meet the gun
& face that fateful order,
One bullet from oblivion,
ʺWill you shoot your Emperorʺ
Great silence deafenʹd ʹtil someone
Bellowʹd echoing ʺFire!ʺ
He breath’d in relief, the beautiful sound
Of five thousand muskets meeting the ground.
Pledging eternal devotion
Surged the salutant wave,
Neyʹs sword motion pierc’d the ocean
But back the blade he gave,
ʺI salute thee, Prince de Muskova, bravest of the brave!ʺ
Laffrey
7th March
Grave News
Beneath the ancyent moon of Austria,
Generals, emperors, statesmen, royals,
Gatherʹd ʹround the grand map of Europa,
Are wolves who wait the diseas’d eagleʹs spoils;
Squabbling rabble
Discuss incessantly
The murmuring babble of high diplomacy.
All talk cut short as from outside
There peelʹd a thundering boom,
The doors dramaticʹly flung wide
By the soul sunken in gloom;
Twas Metternich, whose slick, slow glide
Now claimʹd the centre‐room.
ʺGentlemen, Genova sounds warning grave,
The Corsican ogre has rode the wave!ʺ
As the atmosphere grew colder
The hand of Russiaʹs Tsar
Graspʹd the shoulder of his soldier,
Britanniaʹs battlestar,
ʺTis up to you to save the world ‐ once more, mʹlord, to war.ʺ
Vienna
7th March