Lament Of A Colonel's Lady

By: Sally Lang Letson
Canadian Defence Journal, Vol. XV, No. 4, July, 1938

I married a Colonel, expecting a grand
Continuous pageantry led by a band.
Surrounded by officers, handsome and tall,
Admired, nay worshipped, adored by them all,
My life would be filled with continuous pleasure,
With splendour and gaiety, pomp without measure;
Out. dining with majors in glittering braid,
Existence one lovely resplendent parade.

But alas for my dreams! I emerged from my trance
To find life not wholly a martial romance:
th colonel's command is a mythical force,
I don't see a sign of a man or a horse;
The tactical schemes are developed on maps
And, when I'd prefer to go stepping perhaps,
My C.O. will sit, unconcerned with my plight,
And work with his books throughout half of the night
Composing a thesis on ordnance or such
While I sit beside him, not liking it much,
But reading ballistics, advising on grammar—
A task very helpful but lacking in glamour;
I thrust from my mind any longing for revels
And lift it to high, intellectual levels…

So woe to the hopes of a Colonel's fair lady,
For under the skin I'm still Judy O'Grady.
That marital dream that I cherished is ended;
My life may be worthy: I wouldn't say splendid.

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