H-HOUR

 

H hour approached

And we waited

Some men hummed

Tunelessly, nervously

Others muttered a prayer

A few were sick with nerves

Some shuffled from foot to foot

Some men were eager

Some reluctant

There was fear

And anticipation

Also, a kind of excitement

Some knew this was their time

Yet no one faltered

They didn’t want to kill

Or be killed

But still no one faltered

The tension mounted

As the hour-long barrage ceased

The guns fell silent

The sky cleared

And there was even birdsong

The shrill sound of whistles

Echoed through the trenches

And it was time

With the whistles still ringing in our ears

Up we went

Over the top

We covered half the distance

In silence un-resisted

Then still in silence

Men began to fall

At first only the zipping overhead

Of passing bullets was audible

Then crying and screaming

Then no one was standing

The generals, four miles behind the lines

Pointed at maps and read dispatches

As we lay in the mud dying