Bless God, he went as soldiers

by Emily Dickinson

Emily Dickinson's most intense period of writing was during the Civil War. Though most of her works do not directly address it, there's no ambiguity in this poem's references. Published in her third series (1896), "XX" in the section, Time and Eternity.

Bless God, he went as soldiers,
   His musket on his breast;
Grant, God, he charge the bravest
   Of all the martial blest.

Please God, might I behold him
   In epauletted white,
I should not fear the foe then,
   I should not fear the fight.

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