IN THE NAME OF FREEDOM

This was our hole. This was our home – for all eternity.

The rain cascaded down, driven fierce by a mocking wind.

He would scream when darkness took our sight.

He knew, I knew, that shells would hurtle down

and creature Death would tear the spirit from our souls.

Our friends were gone, scattered on the plain or swallowed whole within a blooded mire.

We did our best. We ran, with bayonets fixed, towards the foe.

My comrade fell; a dangling leg torn almost whole from his shattered frame.

I dragged him, sobbing for his Ma, into the pit,

Which now would be our tomb.

None would help. None could help.

Soon he would die. Soon I would die.

Suddenly, a quiet filled our world.

No voice. No tear. No choice. Just fear.

Willy C -  Nov 2017