A Fog Upon The Field, The First Cold Sighs Of Dawn
Entrenched, The Platoon Gathers To Put Their Helmets On…
Four Years We Lay In Waiting
All Huddled In The Grime
Until “At Last,” THE LIEUTENANT Said,
“I Do Believe It’s Time.”
He Brought His Bugle To His Lips;
Cold Silence Cracked Like Ice
He Blew The Horn With All His Might:
Once, Then Twice, Then Thrice
He Roused Us Then, His Soldiers Eight,
And Checked Our Bayonets.
“Let’s Rendezvous With Fate,” He Said,
“OVER THE TOP, CADETS!”
THE LIEUTENANT Led His Soldiers Then,
He Led Them Right Over The Top
One By One I Saw Them Go,
One By One I Saw Them Stop.
The First To Die Was SARGENT TONGUE,
His Body Blown To Bits
For A Stone Launched ‘Ere By Trebuchet
Did Smash The Ape To Grits
Next Went LITTLE MICKEY,
Who Passed Without A Peep
The Sneak Fell Down A Punji Pit
One Thousand Meters Deep
Then MR. RASCAL Perished,
Although His Fate I Did Not See
One Moment, There Was A Little Guy
The Next, Artillery
After That, SPOON LICKER
Charging Forward With Great Force,
Was Cut In Half Most Cleanly
By Papers Of Divorce
KILLING SPHERE, The Next One
His Death I Mustn’t Speak
All I Can Say Of The Loathsome Fellow
Is That He Simply Sprung A Leak
FUNNY GUY, I Hate To Say,
Failed To Survive The Raid
The Chap Slipped On A Banana Peel
And Was Impaled On His Own Blade
The Bell Rung Then For KINGDOM COME,
Who Had His Gun Into A Bomb Recast
The Lout Forgot This, Then Took Aim
He Perished In The Blast
That’s When THE LIEUTENANT,
Seeing His Troops’ Demise,
Turned To Me Most Solemnly
And Looked Into My Eyes:
“Go,” He Said Discreetly,
“And Let Me Die In This Disgrace;
Survive, Boy, I Beseech Thee:
Go Fuck Your Wife Posthaste.”
What Else For ME?
I Turned Away And Ran Like Never Before
And That’s How I Survived The Battle
And Fucked My Wife After The War
