Lovely youth

Lovely youth, when war drums rattle
Be not ravished: seal your ears;
Do not leap into the battle
With the crowd of mountaineers.
Well I know that death will shun you.
And that where the sabers fly
Azrael will look upon you,
Note your beauty, and pass by.
But the war will be unsparing:
Surely you will come to harm —
Lose your timid grace of bearing,
Lose your shy and languid charm.