Riparto d'Assalto--by Hemingway, 1922

Riparto d’Assalto


Drummed their boots on the camion floor,
Hob-nailed boots on the camion floor.
Sergeants stiff,
Corporals sore.
Lieutenants thought of a Mestre whore-
Warm and soft and sleepy whore,
Cozy, warm and lovely whore:
Damned cold, bitter rotten ride,
Winding road up the Grappa side.
Arditi on benches stiff and cold,
Bristly faces, dirty hides-
Infantry marches, Arditi rides.
Grey, cold, bitter, sullen ride-
To splintered pines on the Grappa side
At Asalone, where the truck-load died.

- Ernest Hemingway (Paris, 1922)