squirrel Posted 7 November , 2021 Share Posted 7 November , 2021 The earth heaves a long deep sigh… The noise has stopped And silence reigns though my ears still ring. We hear the singing of birds… And it seems that the earth heaves a long deep sigh. “What do we do now then?” Says a voice just along the trench. “Safety on but keep your bayonet fixed And keep your eyes peeled”, replies the Serjeant. The silence becomes a little louder… We look at one another questioningly, No one speaks; we just look to the front As we have done for the last four years. Four years, it seems like longer… So much has happened, So many places that all looked the same, So many of our mates no longer with us… “To your front!” shouts the sentry… A German officer climbs on the enemy parapet… “Safeties off! Hold your fire!” shouts the Serjeant. Safeties click along the trench… The German takes off his helmet, Bows, replaces his helmet, salutes us… Then he turns and walks away, “Safeties on!” shouts the Serjeant… We look at one another in amazement… Our Captain comes along handing out cigarettes, “What date is it today sir?” asks the Serjeant… “Eleventh of November, two minutes past eleven” he replies… © Tony Nutkins November 2021 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mandy hall Posted 7 November , 2021 Share Posted 7 November , 2021 (edited) Beautiful Tony. It’s a long time since we have seen any of your poetry on the forum. Mandy Edited 7 November , 2021 by mandy hall Spelling Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
squirrel Posted 7 November , 2021 Author Share Posted 7 November , 2021 (edited) Thank you very much Mandy, very much appreciated. The book of my poems and stories that I had published in 2018 sort of brought that phase of my writing to a conclusion of sorts. Last year I wrote "Remember me fondly" for Remembrance and I just felt the need to write another piece for Remembrance this year. Edited 7 November , 2021 by squirrel Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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