The guns fall silent and the dead <br />lie quietly they’ve played their part. <br />The night hour’s pass heavy with dread <br /> at first light the big guns will start. <br /> <br />The sound of the artillery <br /> will fill the silent skies again. <br />Eroding further bravery <br /> of the war weary fighting men. <br /> <br />The brave young men on either side <br /> are doomed to die face down in mud. <br />Nowhere to run, nowhere to hide. <br /> Their dug outs do but little good. <br /> <br />A shell burst may not kill just maim <br />The lucky ones are those who die, <br />they are the winners in this game <br /> when thick and fast the bullets fly. <br /> <br />Opposing sides move to and fro <br />to capture trenches they’ve just left. <br />For no good reason that they know <br /> obeying orders quite bereft <br /> <br />of any sign of sanity. <br />The generals are safe behind the lines <br />Unlike the vast majority <br /> who fight to fulfil their designs. <br /> <br />Lions by donkeys badly led <br />Young men by the thousand died. <br />A foreign field their final bed <br />because good sense was not applied. <br /> <br />In Flanders fields the poppies grow. <br />The soil enriched by their hearts blood <br />What have we learnt we did not know? <br /> Nobody won Nobody could. <br /> <br />There are no winners none at all <br /> except perhaps the carrion crows <br />They dine well when the soldiers fall <br />as mighty nations come to blows. <br /> <br />Survivors return home broken men <br />with small support and little praise. <br />Until they’re needed once again <br /> when countries their new armies raise. <br /> <br />Another war to end all wars. <br />We do not learn from history <br />For men can always find a cause. <br />Why this should be a mystery. <br /> <br />18-Feb-08<br /><br />ivor or ivor.e hogg<br /><br />http://www.poemhunter.com/poem/generally-speaking/
