Every Man Should Have a Rifle

Australian poet Henry Lawson wrote this in 1907, seven years before WWI, and it still rings true today.

Every Man Should Have a Rifle

Henry Lawson (1907)

So I sit and write and ponder, while the house is deaf and dumb,
Seeing visions "over yonder" of the war I know must come.
In the corner - not a vision - but a sign for coming days
Stand a box of ammunition and a rifle in green baize.
And in this, the living present, let the word go through the land,
Every tradesman, clerk and peasant should have these two things at hand.

No - no ranting song is needed, and no meeting, flag or fuss -
In the future, still unheeded, shall the spirit come to us!
Without feathers, drum or riot on the day that is to be,
We shall march down, very quiet, to our stations by the sea.
While the bitter parties stifle every voice that warns of war,
Every man should own a rifle and have cartridges in store!

A big hat tip in order for the folks at the Australian Coalition For Law Abiding Sporting Shooters