The Trail Poem by Gordon Cross

THE TRAIL
................

To Moresby we fought with our lives
To guard our country we will strive
Forced back to the mountain green
Fighting an enemy that can't be seen

With every step in that sticky mud
Our strength sapped we prayed to God
A twig snaps back from the rear
The exhaustion, makes you jump, not the fear

Fuzzy angels carry our mates
On stretchers made from branches and crates
We think of family, friends and home
Knowing together we will stand, not die alone

Take my hand cobber, I'll help you through
I'll carry your gun and your backpack too
The Owen Stanley's just a hill
To get up and go down, by no means a thrill

The rain, the mud and this damn heat
Saps you to the quick and has you beat
Come on chaps we're Aussies for sure
For King and country, we must endure

My Bren now seems lighter and my spirits soar
These boots now caked from our muddy tour
All of us are comrades in arms
Through this hellish jungle we remember our farms

Not the same but still verdant and green
To win this war and return home we dream
Mateship is our catch cry to help us along
You'll be all right champ is our battlesong

The track left behind now, so overgrown
Friends left in the soil, never to go home
The ship is here! We've made it and set sail...
To some it's just a track
But to us it will always be the trail.

Dedicated to Gwen