1914

1914 When did he know it Feeling the ebbing flow Less and less life drifted away In the trenches -- when did he know Heard the frightened horses The pounding of his heart in the last night Retreating from life were such forces He felt them pulling in the gray morning light So many bodies so many cries Medics desperate holding bandages and morphine Dust and blood rising in the skies The calls for mother as if pulled into a dream As the light faded The man next to him held his hand Another shot and the medic waited With a prayer that they all, each one Would pass into a better land