And that was how we won the war.
The oaky cheek, the overturning lips,
The bible-paper hands on sturdy doors;
The one who held the others in eclipse.
The oaky cheek and overturning lips
Where Pancho Villa saw the setting sun;
The one holding the other in eclipse,
A standing rock against the men who run.
Where Pancho Villa saw the setting sun,
He saw a rising star on Common Man:
A stolid rock above the men who run
To guide the errant flock afield again.
We saw a rising star on common men;
But only for a moment, more or less.
To guide his errant class afield again,
He took his final train into the west.
But only in a moment, in the least,
The teacher's sturdy voice turned dead and hoar.
He took his final train into the east
Smaller than he had ever looked before -
And that was how we won the war.