Loser, Losing, Lost

I.
The scene at Appomattox;
The Greeks at Thermopylae;
The men at Dienbienphu
Lining up to die:
A million ghosts will stop the throat
Of any who does mock
General Grant and General Lee
And all at Appomattox.

II.
There in every classroom;
In every secondary school;
And in every workplace,
Every typing pool;
There, beside you on the bus,
With that lifeless stare -
Nervously, outside surgery,
Waiting for doctors there...

III.
There's cancer in the South of France;
Cancer lurks in Rome;
Cancer circles the whole world
Until it finds you home.
In heart and liver it is waiting
For all of us, or most;
Our very cells join hands and sing -
"Loser - losing - lost."