This Is Strange To Me Poem by Gert Strydom

I have been studying how Russia treats its military:
on a mobile phone a soldier tells his mother:
'There is a dead body here and they do not bother, '
recruits do total decimation as canon-fodder see.

Usually priorities are set for fighting troops:
to have decent food and water and ammunition,
to sustain them to keep fighting in their groups,
this is followed by medical supplies in addition,

equipment and maintenance of it to keep fighting
and the care, the treatment of wounded personnel:
a great breakdown a dead body is underwriting,
and with this morale is also going to hell.

A decomposing body brings much more risk,
points to how a fallen comrade is unimportant,
usually the wounded and dead the army away whisk:
the adequately care is extremely important.

In perfect condition I had six uniform sets,
with appropriate gear for a particular terrain,
where a Russian soldier says he does only one get,
I had enough ration packs to a person sustain.

The Russian tinned food is probably fit for a dog,
as to the standard that it is and the chicken have bones,
while the rain; chill and mud makes trenches like a bog,
and no winter clothing Putin condones.

Daily the temperature is already in the sub zeros
with nothing at night to give enough heat,
it seems to Russians soldiers are not heroes:
some do not for three days get anything to eat.

Add to this that the biscuits are full of mould
and a snack: broken stale potato chips
is seen as food and it is probably years old,
with very old weapons Putin his army equips:

like a ancient help-me-pedal motorbike,
to me seems the so-called second army on earth:
even the top-down structure I do dislike,
and this military functions with dearth.

The cultural norms I am used to are absent,
this probably also speaks to sincere beliefs
where just far too many things are aberrant,
and training and equipment is part of the grief.

Having been in the SADF in war this is strange to me:
this is past wild: as if troops do not care for each other,
Putin does the worries of those that care smother:
with his military in this state he is happy.
© Gert Strydom