The Army Bonnet
From Sawiki
The French chapeau, with the bright green bow,
Looked with scorn at the Army bonnet
As it sat by itself on the closet shelf
With a ribbon of red upon it.
`Do you know, my dear,' she said with a sneer,
`You're so frightfully out of date:
Your strings are too long, and your angle is wrong,
And your crown is by far over-weight?
`You can surely see a creation like me
Is so much more becoming and smart,
Forgive if I smile, but I must say your style
Is disgracing the milliner's art.'
The bonnet was still, for say what you will,
She was certain her place was secure;
For the lassie who wore her had grown to adore her
And her prestige was sure to endure.
For the chapeau might jeer and boldly might sneer,
And consider herself smart and chic
As she showed off the grace of her mistress's face
And shadowed the lines of her cheek.
But the face of the girl, whose heart was a pearl
Of great price, was the lov'lier far
When she wore her blue bonnet, red ribbons upon it,
The symbol of salvation war.
And the perky chapeau, for all its bright bow,
Really envied the bonnet its shelf;
For the reason she jeered - you see it appeared
She lay in the trash box herself.
Anon
