He wanted to serve his country
And do his duty as a man
He signed up for the Army
Just as soon as the war began
He just had his nineteenth birthday
And was at the start of his adult life
He had found the perfect woman
That was going to be his wife
She asked him not to leave her
And cried so many tears
He tried to reassure her
To cast aside her fears
The day for him to leave came
She waved as he boarded the train
Little did she know then
She would never see him again
He met with fellow soldiers
Who seemed like decent blokes
They passed the journey laughing
And telling dirty jokes.
The smiles soon left their faces
When they were marched across the mud
And taken to huge trenches
That stank of rotting flesh and blood.
These would be his home now
Along with many other men
He would know no creature comforts
Nor would he see home again
The weather was appalling
His clothes were sopping wet
The food supplies were dwindling
Sometimes stale bread was all he ate.
There were rats all running rampant
He picked lice out of his hair
The constant sound of gunfire
Was almost more than he could bear
Death was all around him
So many friends were shot
His body was wracked with sores now
And his foot had begun to rot.
He had wanted to make a difference
And fight for what he believed
But this never-ending battle
Was worse than he conceived
It was his turn to be lookout
As so many had before
He was weary and dejected
From this bloody, grisly war
He thought about his fiancée
The girl he’d left at home
Tears threatened to engulf him
He felt so desperate and alone
He didn’t feel the bullet
As it pierced right through his brain
His body still and lifeless
His blood, crimson in the rain
*****
I honour all those soldiers
Who lost their lives and died
We indeed will remember them
As we wear our poppies with pride