A Soldier
For Remembrance Day A Poppy.
Raining hard,
my back hurts,
I’m very cold,
feet soaking wet,
they hurt, I rest.
No sleep for days;
I drag my feet,
soggy mud,
trench a bog;
it’s full of tears!
What time is it?
Dawn or dusk?
Rats, many rats,
run from holes
in side of trench.
Lots of corpses;
my arm hurts,
runs with blood,
had I passed out?
I don’t remember.
Rains relentlessly,
drip, drip,
it runs down my neck.
Wish I was home,
a warm mug of tea,
two sugars please?
I…….
do not want
to recall,
the hell of war,
the noise, the smoke,
the bodies fall.
A light, a flash,
an explosion;
as I depart this world,
I wonder, how
this all came to be,
but mostly
why I came!
Bob Blackwell
19-11-2008
Ralph L. Jones Jr.
Your poem reminds me of a later Kurosawa film in which the ghosts of Japanese soldiers who can't believe they are dead try to march home but their commander, who is still alive, orders them back into the next world.
Your poem reminds me of a later Kurosawa film in which the ghosts of Japanese soldiers who can't believe they are dead try to march home but their commander, who is still alive, orders them back into the next world.
Kesav V Easwaran
Poetic reflections of a veteran soldier- hard and true...sensational and sensitive imageries your short verses bring in, Bob...powerful Remembrance Day poem
Poetic reflections of a veteran soldier- hard and true...sensational and sensitive imageries your short verses bring in, Bob...powerful Remembrance Day poem
La Finita
The soldier's sensations are prefectly potraited. Great poem!
The soldier's sensations are prefectly potraited. Great poem!
Susan Jarvis
The horror of war brought to the fore in this impacting and emotive piece of poetry... we should never forget.
The horror of war brought to the fore in this impacting and emotive piece of poetry... we should never forget.
Karin Anderson
The futility of war hauntingly expressed Bob and the warmth for tea and the sweetness of sugar is heartbreaking. A compassionate and deeply moving poem~
The futility of war hauntingly expressed Bob and the warmth for tea and the sweetness of sugar is heartbreaking. A compassionate and deeply moving poem~
tom balch
A soldiers story well told, Bob, the word "Why" keeps croping up.
A soldiers story well told, Bob, the word "Why" keeps croping up.
Dorothy A. Holmes apwlts2
How deep the memories of war must be...and someone once asked the question in a song "War, What is it good for?" Your verse is very touching...resting on the heart. Dorothy A Poet Who Loves To Sing
How deep the memories of war must be...and someone once asked the question in a song "War, What is it good for?" Your verse is very touching...resting on the heart. Dorothy A Poet Who Loves To Sing
Sandra Martyres
Bob, a very touching write..perect for Remembrance Day..... I can feel the pain and the tears of the soldiers who fought for nothing..the lives lost... the cup of tea with 2 sugars drives me to tears.. Bookmarked!!
Bob, a very touching write..perect for Remembrance Day..... I can feel the pain and the tears of the soldiers who fought for nothing..the lives lost... the cup of tea with 2 sugars drives me to tears.. Bookmarked!!
mamta agarwal
This is such a touching poem full of compassion. It's so difficult to put yourself in someone's shoes. moving images, monologue, and heart wrenching closing lines. the dilemma, existential questions, inhuman conditions in which soldiers live, futility of war- all so vividly captured.
This is such a touching poem full of compassion. It's so difficult to put yourself in someone's shoes. moving images, monologue, and heart wrenching closing lines. the dilemma, existential questions, inhuman conditions in which soldiers live, futility of war- all so vividly captured.
aryaindia
Your write is sincere as much as it is well written. Thanks for expressing your thoughts so well.
Your write is sincere as much as it is well written. Thanks for expressing your thoughts so well.
Lynda Robson
A great poem for Rememberance Day, the last lines say it all, recommended read Bob
A great poem for Rememberance Day, the last lines say it all, recommended read Bob
I volunteered fooled by dreams of glory Bob Too young to know better