Gallipoli

 The men stood in the trenches

waiting for that terrible sound
The shrill whistle would soon tell them to die
They stood next to their mates
.... but they each stood alone
with no one to share the fear
that tore at their guts.....

The officer stood alone....
he would not climb the ladder
Climb the ladder and look over the top
at the merciless torrent of unseen death?
No.... not him.
He would stay below to make sure
that those men would climb....
that the men would climb and die.

Why did those men accept that death?
Why should they accept those insane orders?
The stupidity of the generals
who would send the men to die.
Those deaths had no value....
The dying men bought nothing with their sacrifice.

I wonder who would the bravest be....
the one who died for nothing?
.... or the one who would challenge the officer....

If you must order us to die, then lead us!

Be the first to face those bullets....

Show us how to die.

© Ian Croft May 2021