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…