The Weight of a Rifle

                 I had quite forgotten the weight of a rifle.

                -C. S. Lewis to his brother, 11 August 1940,
                         upon joining the Home Guard

Despite the cold and the morning mist
Some of the fellows reported wild boars
Up against the tree line across the fields
So with my old rifle I took a walk

I found their feral diggings and rootings
And stood and listened to the autumn winds
Sighing in the tree tops, but there were no hogs
Robert Frost could have made something of it

I marched for miles in my merry youth
Laughing and singing by squad and company
M-14 rifles slung over our skinny shoulders
Our government thought this was a good idea

I found some bright-red holly-berries this morning
Which was more fun than shooting at hogs

Or at other men

Letters of C. S. Lewis, ed. W. H. Lewis, Harvest / HBJ, San Diego, 1966