From “The Southland’s Charms and Freedom’s Magnitude” (14)

                                                       14

And there was silence in the pulsing air,
         While in the noon sun fluttered banners gay—
A lull that breathed the courage of despair;
         A hush which meant a pause in which to pray,
There youths whose lives had never known a care 
         Confronted veterans with locks of aged gray;
Before the cool glare of the veteran,
The blue-eyed youth stood dauntless, man to man.