The Young Rifleman

Frank is on my left

Charlie to my right

In front of me the ladder

I’m shivering with fright

I have a bullet chambered

My Bayonet is fixed tight

My hands are now all sweaty

I got no sleep last night

The guns have fallen silent

I’m picked for the first wave

The Sergeant comes along the line

He tells us to be brave

So we all await the whistle

My sense says, go on flee

I’m scared of all the things out there

Of things they’d do to me

I catch a glance at Charlie

We hear the whistle blow

I’m climbing up the ladder now

I hope my nerves don’t show

I take just four steps forward

One mighty stumble back

Now I’m laying in the mud

I can hear the mass attack

Then silence all around me

My eyes gaze to the sky

Its then I see my whole life

It all comes fleeting by

Why can’t I feel my body

My eyes then start to weep

My last thoughts are of mother

As I’m drifting into sleep

©karltearney