Ghosts - The Helmet Poem by Paul Warren

Walking forward into battle is such a dangerous one
The Captain in the Great War knew what needed to be done
The attack at Arras had some success for the British Forces
With the Germans retreating in the third line of defence courses

He was careful in the way he guided his men in using the terrain
And there were plenty of shell holes to take cover in safety to remain
In one shell hole there was a fallen German soldier with his helmet near
How this brave soldier had died to this British captain was not clear

He picked up the helmet and saw that it was quite new and hardly worn
And he put it in his pack as a souvenir of the Great War when ended and gone
The attack petered out and the Captain went into reserve with his men
He sat in the captured German dugout and thought how lucky he was in the end

When everything settled down he took and wrapped up the German helmet
And posted the helmet back to his wife and thought about the last time they had met
The package was delivered to her and she unwrapped it on the kitchen bench
As soon as she touched it she had an ominous feeling that wouldn't be quenched

The helmet quickly bundled and it was stored away but at night the feeling stayed
She was awakened by a dream where she stood alone in a battlefield trench away
And a young German soldier stood facing her and he looked her in the eye
He pleaded with her to help him and reached out to her and she started to cry

She continued to have this dream each time she closed here eyes at night
So she wrote to the Captain and she conveyed to him what was her fright
The letter pleaded with him to return to find the body of the German
And see if he could find out what could bring peace to this tortured man

The captain went back to this old battlefield and picked his way
Amongst the detritus of the battlefield as he looked and stayed
He finallyfound the shell hole and the body of the German
And in the pocket of his tunic he found a letter addressed as a family man

So he went and posted it to the soldier's family through the Red Cross
And wrote to his wife of what he had done to re-write the story's course
That night as she again laid in bed the German soldier returned again
This time there was a serenity and a smile with grace as he disappeared then.

© Paul Warren Poetry