When they brought
the big guns up to the Front
it was you who brought them up
with other soldiers
of your regiment.
You who loaded shells
or brought shells
to the gun or you
who set it off
with a sense of wonder
then boredom
then the wonderment
of where it went.
You saw what their shells
could do to men
nearby in the trenches
how earth and bodies
could fly up in pieces
like a dark deadly stew.
Then there was the mud
and the guns getting stuck
or the horses rooted
in the ground
with their flashing eyes
and frightened cries.
You stood gazing
at the moon at night
knowing Fritz saw
the same light as you
and knowing he thought of home
as you do too
with the image of his wife
snuggled down in bed
with him in his head.
Apr 12, 2018
Apr 12, 2018 at 7:07 AM UTC
When they brought
the big guns up to the Front
it was you who brought them up
with other soldiers
of your regiment.
You who loaded shells
or brought shells
to the gun or you
who set it off
with a sense of wonder
then boredom
then the wonderment
of where it went.
You saw what their shells
could do to men
nearby in the trenches
how earth and bodies
could fly up in pieces
like a dark deadly stew.
Then there was the mud
and the guns getting stuck
or the horses rooted
in the ground
with their flashing eyes
and frightened cries.
You stood gazing
at the moon at night
knowing Fritz saw
the same light as you
and knowing he thought of home
as you do too
with the image of his wife
snuggled down in bed
with him in his head.
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