The guns, the noise, the bullets! And still they're raining down <br />I run for cover in the dark, in this hell-hole of a town. <br />My legs give way, I've just been hit and stumble to the ground <br />It's much too dark for me to see and my head is spinning round. <br /> <br />It's more than dark, it's black in here, the pain, Oh God, the pain! <br />I'm sweating and I don't know why, won't someone please explain? <br />I can't feel my legs or hands, won't someone tell me why? <br />I'm nineteen now, not yet a man, and much too young to die. <br /> <br />I can't move, God help me please, at least let me see my foe <br />Step forward now and show your face, at least then I will know <br />The faceless man who stalked me and then made his attack, <br />Who gunned me down from hidden hills and shot me in the back? <br /> <br />The pain has stopped but I'm so cold, I think I'm paralysed <br />I fought for peace or so they said, what have I sacrificed? <br />My eyes are open, looking up, into the blue night sky <br />But I see nothing, not one thing, is this my time to die? <br /> <br />No stars, no moon, there's nothing there, except blackness lined with red <br />And if I die, will I be, just a number counted dead? <br />My family, I love them all, I know what fate awaits <br />I'll see them soon, if God permits, by Heaven's pearly gates. <br /> <br />Words are swimming in my head, too fast for me to say <br />And now I know, that on this earth, this is my final day. <br />No! I deserve much more than that, for my country I have died <br />So please say my name, when that time comes, with dignity and pride.<br /><br />PAUL COLVIN<br /><br />http://www.poemhunter.com/poem/a-soldier-s-last-thoughts/
