Life — March 21, 1918 — page 14: what you’re looking at

What you’re looking at

This page features a patriotic poem by Robert Garland about sacrifice during World War I, paired with two photographs labeled "Duties: At Home and Abroad." **Left image:** Shows a woman knitting or doing needlework indoors—representing women's domestic contribution to the war effort (making supplies for soldiers). **Right image:** Depicts shirtless soldiers in combat with rifles, representing frontline military service. The juxtaposition illustrates the poem's central conceit: contrasting the speaker's willingness to die in France's fields with his hope to eventually return to his beloved Maryland. The photographs reinforce how WWI divided duties between home and battlefield, with civilians (particularly women) supporting the war through domestic labor while soldiers fought abroad. This is straightforward wartime propaganda emphasizing shared sacrifice.