The Hyaenas

1
After the burial-parties leave
  And the baffled kites have fled;
The wise hyænas come out at eve
  To take account of our dead. 
2
How he died and why he died
  Troubles them not a whit.
They snout the bushes and stones aside
  And dig till they come to it. 
3
They are only resolute they shall eat
  That they and their mates may thrive,
And they know that the dead are safer meat
   Than the weakest thing alive. 
4
(For a goat may butt, and a worm may sting,
  And a child will sometimes stand;
But a poor dead soldier of the King
   Can never lift a hand.) 
5
They whoop and halloo and scatter the dirt
  Until their tushes white
Take good hold in the army shirt,
  And tug the corpse to light, 
6
And the pitiful face is shewn again
  For an instant ere they close;
But it is not discovered to living men—
  Only to God and to those 
7
Who, being soulless, are free from shame,
  Whatever meat they may find.
Nor do they defile the dead man’s name—
  That is reserved for his kind.

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