George S. Patton‘s “Through A Glass, Darkly” reads like Robert E. Howard’s poetry:
Through the travail of the ages,
Midst the pomp and toil of war,
Have I fought and strove and perished
Countless times upon this star.In the form of many people
In all panoplies of time
Have I seen the luring vision
Of the Victory Maid, sublime.I have sinned and I have suffered,
Played the hero and the knave;
Fought for belly, shame, or country,
And for each have found a grave.I cannot name my battles
For the visions are not clear,
Yet, I see the twisted faces
And I feel the rending spear.I have fought with gun and cutlass
On the red and slippery deck
With all Hell aflame within me
And a rope around my neck.So as through a glass, and darkly
The age long strife I see
Where I fought in many guises,
Many names, but always me.And I see not in my blindness
What the objects were I wrought,
But as God rules o’er our bickerings
It was through His will I fought.So forever in the future,
Shall I battle as of yore,
Dying to be born a fighter,
But to die again, once more.
“There is a great deal of talk about loyalty from the bottom to the top. Loyalty from the top down is even more necessary and much less prevalent.”
His assassination was a travesty emblematic of the 20th century.
Howard, like Patton, believed that he had lived before.
Whether reincarnation really exists, in a spiritual sense both men hailed from a different age.