THE SOLDIER
Peter Woodgate
Crouched
in that small corner of Hell,
Amid
the smoke the noise and smell,
And
wondering if the next day would arrive.
I
thought again of friends now gone,
And
those to who death had yet to come,
Not
knowing if in fact I was alive.
My head
was full of thunder
And in
my eyes the light
Of a
thousand flashes glowed,
The
soil beneath my feet boiled dry
Scorching
earth, surrounding trees
Charred
and bowed.
Time
not to ponder then,
In that
far and foreign glen
Thinking,
can I ever show my face again,
For
during combat long and fierce,
Many a
man’s heart by bullets pierce
Yet, it
is not my enemy I have slain.
Copyright Peter Woodgate First Published 1984
Nice poem well thought out, hope you don't object to my addition...
ReplyDeleteAnother powerful war poem. Just one thing, in the 5th line shouldn't it be 'those to whom death had yet to come'?
ReplyDeleteAlso had he shot a friend by mistake, or have I got it all wrong?
Yes Janet whom is the correct word (it was a long time ago I wrote this)
ReplyDeleteThe real message of the poem is that "the soldier", from whatever nationality, is not the real enemy, they are just pawns in the games of power. The real enemies are those that create conflict.