The morning of the attack to break the German frontage
Meant for days on end there had been a mighty artillery barrage
We had moved up on the white line the intelligence officer laid
Waiting for the time when my officer will give his signal as waved
The time goes slow when you are laying waiting for the call
When you know that this could be the day when you give your all
Then I hear the whistles blow and we all rise together as one
And I can feel my heart pounding as I know the danger has begun
The machine guns are sputtering and the shells are falling amongst us
When we reach first trench line and the objective without much fuss
And then onto the second trench when I was hit in the chest
Jim pulled me into a shell hole and dressed the wound telling me to stay and rest
So I am sitting in this hole and getting very tired but the wound doesn't hurt
There are explosions around but I don't care until I am finally covered by dirt
But it seems like a long time that I have been waiting sitting in this place
The battle has moved on and the farmer is back tilling the soil in god's grace
In the rising sun the farmer has stopped his tractor and gone to his plow
Now there's the local gendarme and they are all talking as I'm gently lifted now
Then soldiers are carrying and placing me gently down on sacred ground so fine
In a blinding light there is Jim and he says to me, 'Let's go home mate, it's now time.'
© Paul Warren Poetry
This poem has not been translated into any other language yet.
I would like to translate this poem
got this one up via another way Paul. Quite moving. I've been reading and enjoying the Gunther Grass Memoir 'Peeling the Onion'. With its war experience from the other side, it'll be available in the Charles Sturt library system after 4 October.