Walking through the mucky trench
The sound of the duckboards creaking under my feet
I think to myself why this is happening
Why I am here

I hear the men shouting behind me
I see the people getting some rest in the dug outs
Commanders shouting orders as men go up and over the parapet
Yelling as they run into no man’s land

The sound of gunfire and explosions
They sound so distant to me
I try to block the sound of men in agony in the communication trench
the agony of the blood pounding in my ears driving me forward

I stand next to a man who I consider my best friend down in the trenches
He looks over at me and gives me a thumbs up
I hope to myself that this will all be over soon
I hope that I will be able to make it

At that moment before we left
The world stood still
Everything was quiet
Birds sung a song of hope in the distance

However that doesn’t last long
My heart begins to pound as I hear the whistle blow making us move forward
We climb up the ladders and over the sandbags
We run into battle

We cross over the barbed wire
Some getting caught
Others helping others over
The sound of my flesh taring as it glides by a sharp edge

I think about my wife
My daughter
Sitting at home in sadness as the wonder
Will I make it

I hold tight to my helmet
The men around me yell as they fire their guns
Some not as lucky
I look back seeing the last of the brave people running behind me

The constant gunfire no longer making my ears ring
I hold onto the cross that was in my hand
The man beside me is wounded and down
But my feet compel me forward

My friend from before was caught in a fire
I run to him hoping to save his life
All he told me was to keep going
I left him alone to die there

I continue to run as more and more solders are shot down
And in a moment of realization a land mine was set off
I was thrown into the air about ten feet
And in the one last second I was alive
I felt the presence of my father telling me everything was alright