Black Beetles in Amber

by Ambrose Bierce


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AN UNDRESS UNIFORM


AN UNDRESS UNIFORM

The apparel does _not_ proclaim the man--
Polonius lied like a partisan,
And Salomon still would a hero seem
If (Heaven dispel the impossible dream!)
He stood in a shroud on the hangman's trap,
His eye burning holes in the black, black cap.
And the crowd below would exclaim amain:
"He's ready to fall for his country again!"

 

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