Nightmare

My head was covered with jewels sweat and mud, Bodies lay strewn before me, Creating a barrier and a challenge. Climb, climb says a voice in my head, Or accept the fate of those who lay before you. I hear the whistling and the dull thud of another shell hitting the ground. I take a breath and with every ounce of energy, I scramble over men, men that fought beside me, and against me. When I reach the other side, I fall down, Not dead or wounded, but overwhelmed, Overwhelmed by the challenges that lay before and behind me The thought that, I might not make it home, The terror of never smiling, or seeing anyone smile again. Who knew a war could do so much, Turn the live into dead and the young into old and tear the world apart. I came here wanting to go to war, feeling excited to fight, feeling it my duty, I shall leave here either broken or dead. But I need to make it back, For if I lay here, all these feelings won’t just be in my head, They will be real, And will be dead.