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
Copyright © John Arribas | Year Posted 2017
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