Oh My Dear Son, If Only You Knew

Just turned seventeen when I took the shilling Got a smart uniform, and some shiny boots too Then off to camp to learn about killing, Oh my dear son, if only you knew. Next stop was France, a young lad abroad How welcoming and warm we found the French, But ideas of adventure are put to the sword When you're standing knee deep in mud in a trench. The shelling was awful, it scared me to death A voice shouted duck! there's one coming through Many of my mates then took their last breath Oh my dear son, if only you knew. I'm yer old dad, but once I was young too But my youth was tainted for I lived with killing, And I saw such horrors I'd dare not tell you, You did what they said, once you took the shilling. Even today I hear wounded men screaming I see the face of the man my bayonet ran through, I charge the barbed wire every night as I'm dreaming, Oh my dear son... if only you knew. Entry for If only you knew Poetry Contest Sponsored by Silent One. 24/8/2019. Placed 2nd.