Empty Trench Pt 2

The sun crawls past the bones of trees
And shells, for now, have stilled
As light dies, for another day
Our goals rest unfulfilled

I write this note with shaking hand
This precious paper wrenched
From grip of what was once a man
Turned creature; bloated, drenched

Courage! On les aura!
The naïve lies we were fed
Devoured then to fill our souls,
We scorned our moldy bread

Despite the dwindling mouths to fill
Our poor meals now are gold
And empty words, like empty cries
In stomachs but lie cold

With absence of artillery drum
The silence is profound
And 'cross the vast expanse of dead
I hear whispers resound –

"Come now, lay down your weapons,"
the vermin slink and sigh,
"Let tepid waters drown your tears,
A fitting way to die"

"Come rest your head upon this bank
And sleep now with the slain
Barbed wire is the Lord's embrace
To those who feel no pain"

About me twisted corpses jeer
This pencil chars my hand
I shrink from screams of wounded
As they wrench and turn the land

Not old enough to have yet lived
Is enough to die a slave
I feel the mud-drenched angels' grasps
Come drag me to my grave

Before the fall I dare to dream
The future of this wretched field
Where plants will thrive on entrenched flesh
And crack our skulls here sealed

Will my daughter's daughter frolic
Upon ground our death's defended?
Before new visions twist this view
My life has, with mercy, -