War - Ww2 - Kokoda Christmas Poem by Paul Warren

It was 1942 on the Kokoda Track
And the Diggers were holding the Japanese back
Keith Irwin of the 2/2 nd battalion was in a slit trench
With a mate alone, dirty and fully drenched

They had the jungle in the back
And the Japanese in front marauding as a fact
It was Christmas but not for these Aussie men
Nearer to Hell than Heaven it was for them

They heard a noise from behind that put them on alert
When challenged they heard the following retort
It's only me the padre don't worry about a thing
As he popped into the slit trench with some rustling

I'm Padre Cox from the 49th as he opened his communion set
And he brought out the wine from the inside of it
The Good Lord won't mind it if we took a swig each
On this his day when other celebration is out of reach.

© Paul Warren Poetry