Dead – Not Dishonoured
April 13, 2010 by A.R (David) Lewis
Filed under Poetry
At four in the morning, the shelling restarted.
Their shrieking and screaming, the only sound heard.
Stand to at five, advance at five thirty.
Knee deep in mud the soldiers waited,
To hear the whistle, the command to advance.
The young lad waited, head bowed, trembling.
Praying “Please lets go – get out of this noise”
Lips not moving, mind chanting “Let’s go, let’s go”
Not afraid to charge forward to meet his fate,
The mud, the noise, the waiting caused his trauma.
The enemy now returned the shelling, increasing the bedlam,
Adding the crunch and exploding noises.
The Soldiers cursed, and finished their smokes.
The young one now visibly shaking, not in control.
He dropped his rifle, turned and ran.
The Regulation Court Marshall just a formality.
The verdict ” Guilty”. The sentence ” Death “.
Shell shock not mentioned, cowardice was.
The dishonoured young man to die at dawn.
His breakfast half a mug of rum, and five bullets to follow.