They laid the bodies
on the cart
dead soldiers all.
One soldier moved
the bodies one by one
to set them straight
and piled them neat.
You saw him
as you passed by
with a group of soldiers
on the other side.
None spoke of it
but set it aside
as men do
when at war
and normality
is on hold
and orders given
and the doing
as you're told.
They too
were men like you
fresh from home
after the rushed
and ill-timed manoeuvres.
Now they lie
heaped like butchered cattle
doomed for a mass grave
behind the lines.
You stared ahead
at the soldiers in front
most of them
younger than you
by five years or more.
There was no swagger
in their march anymore
that had dissolved
by tiredness and strain.
The cart of dead men
lay far behind.
Then came wind
and rain.
Apr 24, 2018
Apr 24, 2018 at 6:41 AM UTC
They laid the bodies
on the cart
dead soldiers all.
One soldier moved
the bodies one by one
to set them straight
and piled them neat.
You saw him
as you passed by
with a group of soldiers
on the other side.
None spoke of it
but set it aside
as men do
when at war
and normality
is on hold
and orders given
and the doing
as you're told.
They too
were men like you
fresh from home
after the rushed
and ill-timed manoeuvres.
Now they lie
heaped like butchered cattle
doomed for a mass grave
behind the lines.
You stared ahead
at the soldiers in front
most of them
younger than you
by five years or more.
There was no swagger
in their march anymore
that had dissolved
by tiredness and strain.
The cart of dead men
lay far behind.
Then came wind
and rain.
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