They brought back more than <br />fleas from the trenches <br />More than a cough <br />drawn up from their arse <br /> <br />More than the stained cheeks <br />from thrice dried tears <br /> <br />One for themselves <br />One for the waste <br />And one from the too late sniffed gas <br /> <br />They brought back more than <br />fleas from the trenches <br />They’d served their time <br />in the unholy trade. <br /> <br />A trade they hoped never, <br />To be passed on <br />From fathers and brothers <br />To daughter or son <br /> <br />An apprenticeship served <br />As despatcher of death. <br /> <br />They brought back more than <br />fleas from the trenches, <br />but they left in their place <br />a lot more of themselves.<br /><br />Joe South<br /><br />http://www.poemhunter.com/poem/strong-removing-the-spark-strong/
