20 MAY 1943, Page 9

TRAINING (R.A. O.C.T.U.)

THE rhythm of seasons is irrelevant, The beauty of the buttercups has no part In this routine which we must get by heart, This fragment of a planned development Of huge and overwhelming armament ; Sunlight and rain impinge no more than thought,

Unnoticed are laburnums and their short Flourish of absolute accomplishment.

Beyond the tall guns are the changing fields Implicit with the rhythms of life and birth ; The green and golden sequences of earth Have no place in our drills ; this mountain yields A useful aiming-point ; the seasons' rent Effective manpower, growing armament. R. N. CURREY.