Nor law, nor duty bade me fight,
Nor public men, nor cheering crowds,
A lonely impulse of delight
Drove to this tumult in the clouds;
I balanced all, brought out to mind,
The years to come seemed waste of breath,
A waste of breath the years behind
In balance with this life, this death.
–
Epigraph that opens the book "My War Gone By, I Miss It So" by Anthony Loyd.