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Part of the Battle
There is a moment when with splendid joy,
With flashing blade and roar of thundering guns
And colors waving wide where triumph stands,
The last redoubt is carried; we have won!
This is the battle! We have conquered now!
But the long hours of marching in the sun,
The longer hours of waiting in the dark,
Deadly dishonored work of hidden spy,
The dull details of commissariat,
Food, clothing, medicine, the hospital,
The way the transportation mules are fed,—
These are the battle too, and victory’s price.
And we, in days when no attack is feared
And none is hoped,—no sudden courage called,—
Should strengthen our intrenchments quietly,
Review the forces, exercise the troops,
Feeling the while, not “When will battle come?”
But, “This is battle! We are conquering now!”
< Return to Charlotte Perkins Gilman Poems
The Classic by Charlotte Perkins Gilman—Now a Graphic Novel!
“How I wish this illustrated version was given to me back [when I first read this story]! The level of detail in the illustrations helped me ‘feel’ the story. They are beautiful, haunting, disturbing, and yet not over interpreting the work. Do a young (or old) English student a favor and get this illustrated version of Gilman’s classic early feminist story The Yellow Wallpaper.”
—Lynn Silvera, Amazon reviewer