I am an ancient reluctant conscript. br br On the soup wagons of Xerxes I was a cleaner of pans. br On the march of Miltiades' phalanx I had a haft and head; br I had a bristling gleaming spear-handle. br br Red-headed Cæsar picked me for a teamster. br He said, "Go to work, you Tuscan bastard, br Rome calls for a man who can drive horses." br br The units of conquest led by Charles the Twelfth, br The whirling whimsical Napoleonic columns: br They saw me one of the horseshoers. br br I trimmed the feet of a white horse Bonaparte swept the night stars with. br br Lincoln said, "Get into the game; your nation takes you." br And I drove a wagon and team and I had my arm shot off br At Spottsylvania Court House. br br I am an ancient reluctant conscript.