Two Sentinels
At the top of the hill
Two sentinels stood
Gathering wood
To lay on their fire
When supper was done
They lay on their pallets
And dreamed of a palace
Where they ranked higher
Their post was remote
And the work was thankless
Their tired old blankets
Were thinner than gingham
When winter crept in
It beat their endurance
They turned into turrets
Overlooking that kingdom
And they wish you well
Anyway, anyway
But they could get well
Any day, any day
The night that they froze
They’d been back to back
Awaiting attack
The same way god did
In the wide frontier
The space made them nervous
They enlisted for service
And the country praised them
They’d volunteered
When the country was wild
Heroes reviled
And villains applauded
They stood for a year
They stood for a decade
They watched the good light fade
From the land that raised them
And they wish you well
Anyway, anyway
But they could get well
Any day, any day
The one facing west
Said humans are peons
I’ve been here for eons
So I know what life is
The one facing east
Said look where you stand, rock
They may be landlocked
But you are lifeless
The one facing west
Said the sun wanes palely
People watched die daily
And yet it amazed them
The one facing east
Said I await the rebirthing
Of every earthling
And the land that raised them
And they wish you well
Anyway, anyway
But they could get well
Any day, any day