He slept under an oath tree
And dreamt of his girlfriend,
She came running towards him
With hands open wide,
While he mumbled her name,
“Jessica!” “Jessica, my love!”
And stretched his hands
While tears of joy filled his tired eyes.

He was woken up
By the fierce sound of mortar
Just a few yards from where he lay
And struggled to open his heavy eyelids
Hoping to see Jessica, she alone
But could only see silhouettes of bare trees
Against the flames of destruction

The night turned to day
And days to nights
As injured lone soldier
John continued whispering
His beloved Jessica’s name
Under that oak tree