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This poem is dedicated to all those who lost their lives in World War One. 1914-1918


The ground shook with the thuds of artillery fire.
The occasional burst of machine gun fire dispersed the monotony of standing here.
My legs ankle deep in water.
Peeking ones head over the top of the trench was a sure way to bring a snipers bullet.
I once watched my friend Jack peek his head over the top.
As soon as the slightest part of him was out of the trench.
There was a bang, he fell backwards into my arms.
A single bloody hole in his forehead brought his life to an end.
No-Man’s Land was a pock marked moonscape.
Skeletons lay in the tattered remains of their uniforms.
Their bony hands still clutching their rifles.
Waiting for the order to go over the top was terrifying.
Even though you were surrounded by other young men who were far from home.
You were all alone with your thoughts.
You would wonder if you would see your sweethearts face again.
As the whistle blew, the singling our demise.
Climbing out of the protected world that was the trench.
Men began to drop all around me.
Some disappearing as a shell hit.
A fine bloody mist settled over the field.
Like a ghastly spray of the sea.
The steady slow walk into death’s arm’s was strangely comforting.
When it came you wouldn’t know it.
No pain, just nothingness.
The screams of the dying, the shouting of the officers to press forwards was a confusing vortex.
Eventually a soldiers best friend found me.
The surges of lighting traveled up my spine.
I sunk into the soft muddy earth.
The sounds of battle drowned out by the frantic beating of my heart.
Rolling onto my back, I felt around for where the bullet had entered me.
I found a small hole the size of a nickel in my lower torso.
I could feel the warm blood oozing out.
My vision blurred then faded away.
The last thoughts through my head passed by quickly.
“Would anyone remember me? Would anyone care why I died? That I died for you, so that you could live free. When you saw my face gazing out across time, what would you think of me?”
The sides retreated to their trenches as fast as the tides leave the shores.
A quiet stillness encapsulated the youths body.
His fresh face pale white from the loss of blood.
The last smile still warm across his lips.
Glassy eyes stared into the unknown oblivion.
Around him lay other young men who had come to die in this War to end all wars.
The last Great War.