Wellington and Waterloo

When the blare of the trumpets was silenced,
And the beat of the rolling drum,

When the din of the battles was over

And peace, at last, had come—

"Twas then the Iron Duke of England

Went his college days to renew

And rest him among his honors

He had won at Waterloo.

Then on the green sward of the campus,
Where in college days he had play’d
He stood in calm meditation,

Thinking of his progress made.

Deep absorbed in retrospection,
Dwelling on the deeds he had done,

He remarked unto his fellows:

“Here’s where Waterloo was won.”

—1924

Fossils and Footprints

I have scouted wide prairies

Where once stood an inland sea;

I have searched with eager scanning
For whatever there might be
Hidden among hillside chalk cliffs,
Or beneath the arroyo mold,

Where dinosaurs and reptiles
Cavorted in days of old.

I have seen fossil megatherii,
That browsed high among the trees;
And I’ve digged the monstrous skeletons