Balls Bluff by Herman Melville
b'Melville read by Classic Poetry Aloud:\\nhttp://www.classicpoetryaloud.com/\\n\\nGiving voice to the poetry of the past.\\n\\n---------------------------------------------------\\n\\nBall\\u2019s Bluff \\n\\nby Herman Melville (1819 \\u2013 1891) \\n \\nOne noonday, at my window in the town,\\n I saw a sight - saddest that eyes can see -\\n Young soldiers marching lustily\\n Unto the wars,\\nWith fifes, and flags in mottoed pageantry;\\n While all the porches, walks, and doors\\n Were rich with ladies cheering royally.\\n \\nThey moved like Juny morning on the wave,\\n Their hearts were fresh as clover in its prime\\n (It was the breezy summer time),\\n Life throbbed so strong,\\nHow should they dream that Death in rosy clime\\n Would come to thin their shining throng?\\nYouth feels immortal, like the gods sublime.\\n\\nWeeks passed; and at my window, leaving bed,\\n By nights I mused, of easeful sleep bereft,\\n On those brave boys (Ah War! thy theft);\\n Some marching feet\\nFound pause at last by cliffs Potomac cleft;\\n Wakeful I mused, while in the street\\nFar footfalls died away till none were left.'