H-HOUR

H hour approached
And we waited
Some men hummed
Tunelessly, nervously
Others muttered a prayer
A few were sick with nerves
Some shuffled from foot to foot
Some men were eager
Some reluctant
There was fear
And anticipation
Also a kind of excitement
Some knew this was their time
Yet no one faltered
They didn’t want to kill
Or be killed
But still no one faltered
The tension mounted
As the hour long barrage ceased
The guns fell silent
The sky cleared
And there was even birdsong
The shrill sound of whistles
Echoed through the trenches
And it was time
With the whistles still ringing in our ears
Up we went
Over the top
We covered half the distance
In silence un-resisted
Then still in silence
Men began to fall
At first only the zipping overhead
Of passing bullets was audible
Then crying and screaming
Then no one was standing
The generals, four miles behind the lines
Pointed at maps and read dispatches
As we lay in the mud dieing