The Soldier He Killed Poem by Kevin Hulme

I saw his Head above the distant Earth
About One Hundred yards or more,
A bobbing head that's a Cartridge worth
For this is Bloody War.
‘It's you or im' The Sergeant said
When on the Training Ground,
‘So let im ave it' a Song he fed
‘And put in another Round'.
And so we hammered my Chums and I
To give them Merry Hell,
Ours was not to reason why
The Murder that befell.
We fought what seemed a lifetime through,
A Carnage of Steel and Lead,
The Slaughter raged, the Fever grew
Until the ground was puddled Red.
We lost a lot that Hellish day
Good Comrades in Mirth and Song,
Dear friends that lie in Mud and Clay
Once soon the fight is done.
And of my Foe there are many laid
Now strewn in Trenches deep,
Gaping mouths that for Home fires prayed;
Now still in deathly sleep.
As there I see old Bobbing Head
His face a silent cry,
The open brow where the Rats are fed
No Mother should ever espy.
And inside his pocket a Picture placed
The girl who waits at home,
She speaks of Wine and Joys embraced
And all that Love has shown.
For he killed not just one in the Warring tide
By his duty he had to impart,
But also the dreams of a hopeful Bride
And the Reverence of a young girls Heart.