Erect, the toy soldier stood,
His wooden arms straight at his side,
The Colonel eyed him up and down,
"ADVANCE, SIR, AND BE RECOGNIZED!"
The toy soldier, at attention,
Responded to the stern command,
"I'm Captain Marmalade," he said,
"Yes sir! That's who I am!"
"Well, Marmalade," replied the Colonel,
(Himself, a boy of six),
"I don't like to tell you this,
But we're in one awful fix."
"The enemy has surrounded us,
Our ammunition's almost gone,
Our food and water both are low,
And nightfall's coming on."
"I'm wounded bad," the Colonel
said,
"Though not bad enough to die,
But you must plan to take my
place,
In case I don't survive."
"Good grief!" thought Captain
Marmalade,
Still standing at attention,
"So much responsibility,
So much pressure ... so much tension!"
But undaunted and courageous,
He made and laid his plans,
He assembled all the troops,
And took over the command.
A unit here; a unit there,
Strategically, he placed,
Men aimed their guns and drew their
swords,
Against the onslaught that they
faced.
The foe stealthily approached,
The sun had gone; the sky was
black,
"FIRE!" yelled Captain Marmalade,
Just as the enemy attacked!
BOOM! BOOM! BANG! BANG! Gun fire
rang!,
The battle had begun!
Soon Marmalade and his brigade,
Had forced the foe to run!
Captain Marmalade was very brave,
And victory was close at hand,
Then suddenly the battle ceased,
When someone else assumed
command.
Both the Captain and the Colonel
jumped,
When they heard the General speak,
"PUT AWAY YOUR TOYS, SON!
IT'S TIME YOU WENT ASLEEP!"
"But Mom, the battle's almost won,"
The little Colonel pled,
"NO, SON! IT IS COMPLETELY DONE!"
The Five Star General said.
"Aw, Mom, the men are fighting hard,
And Cap'n Marmalade is winning,"
"I'LL HELP HIM WIN!," said the wily
Mom,
Who could not keep from grinning.
With that, she took a pillow
From the tiny Colonel's bed,
And SLAMMED it down on the
battleground,
"BOMBS AWAY!" THE General said.
The hills and valleys were destroyed!
The battle scene was gone!
The soldiers fled ... alive ... not
dead!
In spite of Mama's bomb!
Captain Marmalade was
also saved,
Though the bomb had caught him,
too,
Yet he stood erect and showed
respect,
Because that's what soldiers
do.
Then the General and the Colonel,
(The wise mother
and her son),
Giggled, hugged, and kissed "Good
Night,"
And that's how the war was won!
Virginia (Ginny)
Ellis
Copyright December 2007
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