The troops are singing fervently, each for himself: <br />God, protect me from misfortune, <br />Father, Son and Holy Spirit, <br />That no grenades strike me, <br />That the bastards, our enemies, <br />Do not catch me, do not shoot me, <br />That I don't die like a dog <br />For the dear fatherland. <br />Look, I would like to go on living, <br />Milk cows, bang girls <br />And beat the bastard, Sepp, <br />Get drunk often <br />Until my blessed death. <br />Look, I eagerly and gladly recite <br />Seven rosaries daily, <br />If you, God, in your grace <br />Would kill my friend Huber or Meier, <br />And not me. <br />But if the worst should come, <br />Let me not be too badly wounded. <br />Send me a slight leg wound, <br />A small injury to the arm, <br />So that I may return as a hero, <br />With a story to tell.<br /><br />Alfred Lichtenstein<br /><br />http://www.poemhunter.com/poem/prayer-before-battle-2/
