71: Flashman, 1969, by George Macdonald Fraser (1925–2008)
Was it in 1980? I
Am pretty sure it was. A guy
(A colleague*) turned my reading eye
Toward this series that would last
A dozen books (they all went fast)—
And reading them? Delightful blast!
See, Flashman was a coward, who
Looked like a hero, through and through.
But sprint from danger—what he’d do
In every threatening sort of
case—
Away from action he would
race—
And later, somehow, save his face.
And Fraser puts him in some scenes—
From Light Brigade (and what that means!)—
And Flashman always wets his jeans—
Well, metaphorically, of course,
As he rides off—splendid horse—
And leaves behind the needy force
Though later claims heroics—he
Thus scampered throughout history,
Delighting many readers (me!).
*former Western Reserve Academy colleague Eric Gustavson
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