Let him who desires peace prepare for war
Let the man who boasts of war prepare the wall
Then let those thousands who fall
Find peace in answering war’s call…
A deep trench
Hidden behind a maze of fence
Barbed wire on sharp piers aimed to cleanse
Ditches dug in a web of survival
Hollow pits and mines designed to stop ones rival
Scattered remains of a small town
Brought down by mortar
And now it only was home to man’s slaughter
Death is War’s daughter
There is no one without the other
With such profound thoughts I was sounding like my mother
My fellow brother beside me
Turned a curious eye
Almost furious at my smile in such un-humorous times
I felt no need to reply, to me it was clear
Humour is a natural reaction when overcome by fear
A worried man would splutter a joke
Then curse himself for devoting
Those few seconds to anything else but hope…
Because some cannot cope
Its that fear of death
One man sits aside me, eyes glazed and drawing icy breaths
Grips the cross on his chest
As he drops to his knee’s
Digging his fingers to the dirt until his nails begin to bleed
A need to never leave what he’s left behind
A family kind, wife and children all praying he’s alive
Most the men are in the same state
Swearing if they live
They will turn a new page, create a clean slate
I cant help but smile
They’re in a healthy denial
We all signed for death when we joined the rank and file
I barely raise my head to the Sergeants voice
Calling ‘us his boys’
And how our country loves us for our valiant choice
Fuck off was it a choice…
It was either join the rows and hold metal
Or be labelled a coward and wear the white rose petal
I stare at men I call my friends
Who stand with pale faces, glazed gazes as they face their end
Ladders are placed
On damaged embracements
Panic stricken faces cast hateful glares
Towards the officers placements
Mutters of ‘bastards’ and ‘cunt’
Dull thud of shells impacting on mud
As time speeds up, heart beats race
Not a single muscle makes a twitch on my face
Im calm, through the whistles and alarms
Warning us we must run with our brother in arms
Right foot on the first step…
I gasp and catch my breath….
Must face the bullets, I am a soldier
And Im Over the edge…
Dead………
Courage is fear that has said its prayers
Yet is still hidden under self doubting layers