Whom anxious folk sent forth to spy the foe,

But he came back and cried, "The lilac's out!

And that is all I know."

They ask me things about my picket,

And whether I'm in touch with whom;

I want to lie in yonder thicket,

I only wish to touch the bloom;

And when men agitate about their flanks

And say their left is sadly in the air,

I hear the missel-thrush and murmur, "Thanks,