Poetry Break – “Let Me Tell You How I Died” – Shelling

Last year, I tapped into my long-dormant poetry well, and I posted a series of seven poems about World War II.  They were all from the vantage points of the many people, from many places, killed during the conflict.  This year, the “Let Me Tell You How I Died” series is back with seven segments from World War I.  It was a conflict so encompassing in its devastation that it came to be known as “the Great War.”  Before it was through, it had laid waste to most of Europe as well as an entire generation of fighting soldiers.  Here for you is the first segment of Part II of this poem epic.  I hope you enjoy it, as well as the following six that will be posted over the next few months.

LET ME TELL YOU HOW I DIED

PART II – SEGMENT 1

Shelling

That one had my number, it was just my turn

It’s a thing about this war we all must learn

If your number comes up, there’s nothing to do

Whether it’s him, or whether it’s you

I was a Tommy, so young, just a lad

But then the war came, and it was so damn bad

So I answered the call, I marched off to the fields

I took up the sword, the cannon, the shields

Now here I sit in the trenches and mud

The rain pours down in a miserable flood

The rats, the lice, the gas, the smell

The bodies, the bones, the graveyard – it’s hell

Then came the shell that had my name

It came hard and fast, it’s always the same

It hit me so hard, like a punch to the back

I let out a scream, then it all went black

At least I didn’t feel any pain

It was over so fast in that pouring rain

Goodbye, dear world, heavenward I’m bound

But you’ll never know, because I won’t be found

To Be Continued…