Friday 1 July 2016

Somme

For Frederick Le Poidevin, 
my Paternal Grandfather, 
one of the few to return from the Great War,



 "The war to end all wars"
.
Today I feel so raw
I hate any fucking war
100 years ago today
So many men died
.
Left in the mud
In a field far from home
Loved ones not there
Not able to mourn
.
Alone and afraid
Bleeding and cold
Never to grow old
Struck down in their prime
So many never to reurn
.
What thoughts in their heads
The whistle blows
And over the top
They rushed en masse
Into the teeth of hell
.
Barbed wire tearing flesh
Bombs ripping them apart
Bullets screaming through the air
Thudding into men
Shredding organ and bone
.
Strewn on the ground in pieces
Like offal on a slaughterhouse floor
No longer human
Just gobbets of meat
Lying on the sodden ground
.
So few came home
And those that did
Would never forget
The sights and smells
The noise, the terror
.
The nightmares remained
With them all their lives
For those men back home
The war never ended
Replayed in their heads
.
Unbidden the horros
Recalled without warning
Breaking their souls
Countless times again
And again down the years
.
Unable to forget . . . .   Lest we forget
.

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2 comments:

  1. So very true and sad
    I grieve everyday now for all the fighting wars and dying.You would think that we would have learned by now but no. It is a double dose of sadness and worry. All I can do is send my regards out into the world and care for the ones I can.

    ReplyDelete
  2. So very true and sad
    I grieve everyday now for all the fighting wars and dying.You would think that we would have learned by now but no. It is a double dose of sadness and worry. All I can do is send my regards out into the world and care for the ones I can.

    ReplyDelete