Wednesday, October 29, 2014

No surprise the ‘zing’ was piercing!

                                                                                   Attribution: John Warwick Brooke
Image: In the Trenches (here)

He crawled nearer watching forlornly
Barely a few hours ago they were reminding each other
They ought to be wary
Entering sniper territory
Meant extra risks and untold danger

It did not come too soon
‘Whoose’ silently did it come
The ‘zing’ barely 5 feet away
His squad buddy was there minutes ago
Leaning over next to him

He was still there but no more breathing
His helmet took the brunt
No surprise the ‘zing’ was piercing
It made it sound so close
The haversack with all his worldly possessions
In shreds like popcorns
His lanyard with the whistle at its end
Was still intact though
Blood still oozing from his temple
He could not look at his buddy
He was used to seeing blood
But when it was from one known to him
it made him nauseous

The medics  arrived finally
They did a leopard crawl for quite a distance
That took time but to no avail
A test of the pulse and the verdict was clear
His buddy was no more

He suddenly felt angry and weary
He felt sorry
He grew up an adult in a war zone
He felt lucky
He felt protected
By the angels above
He was!

For Gabriella's hosting at d'Verse: Poetics  -  war poetry

16 comments:

  1. war is brutal....would be hard to see your buddy...the guy that had saved your life...the guy that you depended on taken out...and to know you dont have time for mourning...or you will be killed too....

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  2. War is a terrible thing, you have written this so life like,
    Excellent.

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  3. Such a terrible moment in war, to lose a good buddy.

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  4. Indeed some grew up like that.. for some there was the gratitude.. others with a burden of guilt.

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  5. I think many of these young men became, and still become, adults overnight.

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  6. So hard to lose a person's buddy. I am sure as this happened they wondered if they would be the next one. War is hard, and life is precious but so often lost.

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  7. War is terrible all around, but such a moment has to be even worse

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  8. How sad to read this Hank ~ To lose a buddy during war time is brutal and the scars can last a long time ~

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  9. This might be a chapter out of a book on Gallipoli I read as a teen. I still recall the ferocity with these men fought - and how such bravery could never be forgotten.

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  10. Horrible is the only word to describe it

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  11. War is such an ugly thing. It leaves scars on those who survive it.

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  12. Kind of reminds me of the opening scene from Saving Private Ryan.

    Born to Strife and Contention

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  13. A very poignantly written piece - captured with realism and empathy.

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  14. War leaves wounds that are hard to heal.

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