Intended for Inscription on a Sword Presented to Colonel
      Cutting of the National Guard of California.

  I am for Cutting. I'm a blade
  Designed for use at dress parade.
  My gleaming length, when I display
  Peace rules the land with gentle sway;
  But when the war-dogs bare their teeth
  Go seek me in the modest sheath.
  I am for Cutting. Not for me
  The task of setting nations free.
  Let soulless blades take human life,
  My softer metal shuns the strife.
  The annual review is mine,
  When gorgeous shopmen sweat and shine,
  And Biddy, tip-toe on the pave,
  Adores the cobble-trotting brave.
  I am for Cutting. 'Tis not mine
  To hew amain the hostile line;
  Not mine all pitiless to spread
  The plain with tumuli of dead.
  My grander duty lies afar
  From haunts of the insane hussar,
  Where charging horse and struggling foot
  Are grimed alike with cannon-soot.
  When Loveliness and Valor meet
  Beneath the trees to dance, and eat,
  And sing, and much beside, behold
  My golden glories all unfold!
  There formidably are displayed
  The useful horrors of my blade
  In time of feast and dance and ballad,
  I am for cutting chicken salad.