World War I Revisited

WORLD WAR 1 ONE HUNDRED YEARS LATER (AMERICAN VERSION) by JOHN M. ARRIBAS Patriotic songs give us reason to cheer Except when “over there” is over here Living underground is no place to cherish Cause in this place , you could easily perish You huddle in the trenches each day at dawn Then over the top at the sound of the horn The chatter of machine gun fire spills cross the plain Your companions are dropping screaming with pain You move rapidly as your pulse races Only a fool would cross open spaces After the charge there are agonizing cries From wounded men slowly losing their lives Unarmed medics venture into the strife Feeling for pulses searching for life Commanders gave orders for this type of fray We need to get back what we lost yesterday And so it goes swapping land for men’s lives With this kind of lunacy no one survives Neither side will consider the others petition They’d rather continue this senseless attrition Riddled with bullets then dumped in a trench No time to collect name tags too odorous the stench This young life extinguished ahead of its time His uniform tarnished and covered with lime A senseless deployment of each nations best The reward for their bravery is eternal rest Later that day when they call the roll Few will be there maybe no one at all Back home they’ll read his name in the square Some will be crying in utter despair Wwi (2) amer. Ver. The government boasts of daily achievement But in many a home there is only bereavement Gallantry and sacrifice was well worth the price Cause on November eleventh all will be nice An equitable armistice will truly insure That no further carnage the world must endure Mission accomplished medals galore Cause we fought the war “to end all war The generals all flush with their new found fame Were eating their truffles and drinking champagne The lonely soldier still in one piece (so it seems) Trudged through the mud seeking relief The war was over a time to rejoice Yet in his soul an unanswered voice The pain and the fright he had to sustain The horrors of war were sure to remain Then on that day when his life closes Put a flag on his coffin and scatter some roses They’ll praise his service to the land of the free Award him a medal granted posthumously Death and destruction will happen no more Cause he fought the war “ to end all war” apsumo de vita