English poem
An Undress Uniform
by Ambrose Bierce (1842–1914)
The apparel does not proclaim the man-- Polonius lied like a partisan, And Salomon still would a hero seem If (Heaven dispel the impossible dream!) He stood in a shroud on the hangman's trap, His eye burning holes in the black, black cap. And the crowd below would exclaim amain: "He's ready to fall for his country again!"