WW1+WW2 Poetry

Toppling Pieces

Where are they now?-

The children of the military.

They're buried deep in the mud,

Smiles sweet, flecked with blood.

With their uniforms hung loose against their frames

And the false cologne of confidence overpowering the fear in their boots

They're launched onto the fields like fodder

For the machine guns to graze upon.

The boy to the right goes down, so does the left.

The German in front, the Austrian to his right.

In their last breaths they all look at each other with a universal sorrow,

And they too join the casualties of war.

Casualties of a war far less personal than it seems;

It's a King's war and the pawns are falling of the board.

They're falling down fast on both sides and

Soon there will be no one else for the Kings to use.

The curve of death will soon enter my hands,

And that omen will be in my sights.

I'd rather meet with him willingly,

Than kill until I die.

So what are we all really fighting for?

It's just another man's war.

On that field, I'll be there, fighting for peace,

It will be my duty until my decease.

This poem means quite a bit to me as it was my entry to the Peace Pledge Union's "Writing For Peace" competition (you had to write a piece of writing in the perspective of a conscientious objector) and i actually won this so i owe a lot to this poem!

Hope you enjoy it