I wrote this last year in memory of the carnage in the trenches that they called The Great War. Your Country Needs You Once upon a time I saw a poster Of a general pointing straight at me And the words below shouted out That a soldier I should be. Yes a soldier now that was a thought Id never had before I didnt fight, Id never fought Never mind being in a war. But like myself, millions of others Decided to heed the call And despite the tears of our mothers We trooped off all proud and tall Together as mates from our towns All over these sceptred isles We left young and happy, but soon frowns Replaced our unknowing smiles. In the trenches, the filth, the blood, The stench of death all around Half of my mates already gone for good Shredded and churned into the ground. This was not how we expected it to be When we all joined up to fight the Hun We thought we would all soon see Home again after having a bit of fun. But fun, we soon learned has no place On these killing fields of France, The games played here all have their base In deaths macabre dance. And in the morning at the rising sun Once more we go over the top To face bullets from the machine gun That are relentless and never stop. The bullets that cut down men Like the scythes that cut the corn But they keep sending us again and again I now wish Id never been born. I wish Id never been born to see The terrible things Ive seen and done I wish Id never been born to be Sent here to have some fun. Youll all be home for Christmas, The recruiting sergeant said. And two years later here we are With most of us already dead. Victims of the bullet, the gas, The bayonet, shell, and bomb And at dawn we once again will mass, To attack the enemy on the Somme. Tom Higgins 13/11/2013
Posted on: Thu, 06 Nov 2014 23:51:21 +0000
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