The N.Z.R.

Free Lance, Volume XVII, Issue 920, 1 March 1918, Page 26

The N.Z.R.

(For the New Zealand Free Lance.) The roj-al red, above, his brow Is seen in foreign lands afar; Forgotten now the pen and plough. His work is where the trenches scar In de.ep, long lines old Mother Earth, Or where the shell-shaped craters mar The growth of green across her girth— 'Alert, he waits, the N.Z.R.! The trooper views the gallant green Around his hat with proper pride, In battle's blaze that tint is seen Though death be riding at his side! Appears -in fadeless colour when He dreams of home and vistas wide Whilst pillowed in a dug-out den, In depth a soldier's double stride. The gunner glories in the blue, The restful shade of evening skies, That gives the sea its purple hue, And matchless makes his lady's eyes; Yet oft those bands of blue are blent With crimson as his life-blood buys The freedom Nature never meant A suite of kings to supervise!