No
There wasn't any
Heartbreak

There were
Not too many
Tears

I was surprised

I was astonished

I was feared

And loved

All at the same time

The crowd saw who
Was who and who
Was not

When the cards are down
And the eyes finally clear

Who is remembered
Is the thing
That matters most

We forget the ones
Who died in the trenches
Who were immolated from within
Who sounded but were never found

We forget the ones
Who died for this and
Who lost a limb for that and
Crippled their minds for them

Love stripped from their souls
Replaced by the dark horror
Of man's humaneness

Who are we to ask for such a sacrifice?
Who are we to send away the living for death?
Who are we to shake our heads in feigned understanding?

Who are we?

The dust will never settle
The sun will always rise
And fall
On the foggy eyes of war

And as the bayonets lay scattered,
Their bearers
Bearing no resemblance
To their former selves

And try
To
Hear

The echoing scream
The rippling shot
The cursed' crying corpses

Try to hear

The frankness

Of death.