| George Herbert Clarke, ed. (1873–1953). A Treasury of War Poetry. 1917. |
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| 132. The Old Soldier |
| | | By Katharine Tynan |
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| LEST the young soldiers be strange in heaven, | |
| God bids the old soldier they all adored | |
| Come to Him and wait for them, clean, new-shriven, | |
| A happy doorkeeper in the House of the Lord. | |
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| Lest it abash them, the strange new splendour, | 5 |
| Lest it affright them, the new robes clean; | |
| Here’s an old face, now, long-tried, and tender, | |
| A word and a hand-clasp as they troop in. | |
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| “My boys,” he greets them: and heaven is homely, | |
| He their great captain in days gone o’er; | 10 |
| Dear is the friend’s face, honest and comely, | |
| Waiting to welcome them by the strange door. | |
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