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| Long Tom for 'Dead
Men' |
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Punishment for rations
theft
was simple
set to teach an object lesson
to the thief:
Branded `a Dead Man'
by the troops his mates
made to sit all alone
and eat Long Tom
a four pound loaf
of lovely crunchy bread
every single munchy crumb
to the end.
Whenafter Curly Cahill
would say, `Hungry?'
and offer just as much
as he could eat
without popping
his rivets, foundering.
Back among the troops,
reviled as `Dead Man'
he felt the pangs
that ration–stealers feel
when no–one ever shares
with them again
and they are never trusted
near the food.
The Messdeck spread
was always very good
no need for rats
who come and wreck the mood
of comradeship
in this seafarer's brood. |
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