Prose & Poetry - The Muse in Arms - Good Wishes
Updated - Wednesday, 25 June, 2003

First published in London in November 1917 and reprinted in February 1918 The Muse in Arms comprised, in the words of editor E. B. Osborne:

"A collection of war poems, for the most part written in the field of action, by seamen, soldiers, and flying men who are serving, or have served, in the Great War".

Below is one of seventeen poems featured within the Moods and Memories section of the collection.  You can access other poems within the section via the sidebar to the right.

Good Wishes
by Edward Shanks

Good luck, good health, good temper, these,
A very hive of honey-bees
To make and store up happiness,
Should wait upon you without cease,
If I'd the power to call them down
Into this stuffy little town,
Where the dull air in sticky wreaths
Afflicts a man each time he breathes.
But since I have no power to call
Benevolent spirits down at all,
I'll wish you all the good I know
And close the chapter up and go.

A "dogfight" signified air combat at close quarters.

Original Material © Michael Duffy 2000-07, SafeSurf Rated