by Cpl. Robert L. Cook
Jan. 42~Sept. 45
What can you say about a tent
That can be said in compliment?
If you have spent, the same as I,
So many nights not warm or dry.
A tent is something not profound
Except when sleeping on the ground
Beneath a tree or a shelter-half.
That ain't funny, so don't laugh.
The memories I have of tents
And all the time that I've spent
Beneath their damp and musty tops
And dirt-packed floors you couldn't mop.
Their windy sides, that you could roll,
Kept not out the rain or cold.
Like I said in Stanza One,
They ain't much,
But better than none.
*
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**About the author: Robert Cook served with Reg. Weapons Co.(2d-2d) from 1942~44, at Guadalcanal & Tarawa, during a 33-month overseas tour.
