The remains of a soldier
laid on a muddy plank of wood,
and that was the first day at the Front.
George pushed the memory aside
like an annoying fly, but it stayed there
as he watched Polly
make up his bed.
And the hand sticking out
of the trench, a wedding ring
still visible discoloured by blood.
George studied the maid
as she moved, how she smoothed
down the cover with the side
of her palm.
He wished she could smooth out the memories
stuck his head: the calls of the wounded
and faces of the dead.
Sep 9, 2017
Sep 9, 2017 at 12:36 PM UTC
The remains of a soldier
laid on a muddy plank of wood,
and that was the first day at the Front.
George pushed the memory aside
like an annoying fly, but it stayed there
as he watched Polly
make up his bed.
And the hand sticking out
of the trench, a wedding ring
still visible discoloured by blood.
George studied the maid
as she moved, how she smoothed
down the cover with the side
of her palm.
He wished she could smooth out the memories
stuck his head: the calls of the wounded
and faces of the dead.
An officer with shell-shock in 1917
