Previously published in the Murmurs, Aquaterra's monthly newsletter. Used with permission.
Is the judgment of the archers really sound?
Out in the hot sun all day to shoot a York round.
Back and forth, they walk two miles
Yet eat and drink little all the while.
Are the stick-jocks any better?
In weighty armor all day in every weather
They know not even when they're hungry or hurt
Until they keel over, face first, in the dirt!
If one forces a little food and a lot of water
Some of these worthies survive all the slaughter.
But all the rest are defeated, I think
By their own inability to take food and drink,
Sit in the shade and be at their ease.
Will someone knock some sense in these LUNATICS, please!
Drawing by Jora Sveinsdottir. Previously published in On Target, V.1, I.2, Spring 1996.
