A Note From The Trenches

by cassie hughes   Nov 11, 2014


Why did I go to war mum?
Why did I ride away?
They told me I'd be a hero
When I came back one day.
But the stories are all so wrong mum,
There isn't a word that's true.
It isn't all hope and glory.
It isn't all red, white and blue.
The trenches are drowning in mud mum.
and my feet have gone numb from the cold.
I can't see the sky any longer,
Although it's still there I am told.
The thunder of constant guns firing
has made me go deaf I'm afraid,
But at least I still have all my pieces
Unlike some, who on stretchers we've laid.
It isn't like plays in the theatre.
It's dirty and dark and its raw,
and I'm scared to the depths of my heart mum,
We are falling to them, more and more.
So I'm writing this note whilst I'm able
to send you my love and to say
If I make it back home in one piece mum
I will never again go away.

Published Nov. 2014 in a collection of poetry to mark 100yrs of WW1

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Latest Comments

  • 10 years ago

    by earlgreytea

    Look up the enigma machine. :D

  • 10 years ago

    by earlgreytea

    War is better now than it was. There are so many things to do outside of the frontlines.

  • 10 years ago

    by gumshuda

    What a beautiful poem that shows us the nightmare of the trenches.

    What an emotional poem... Each and every line of your poem carried the heavy weight of joining the army... In fact I felt the pain in each and every word.

    This poem shows us the horrors of the trenches through the note of one of the soldiers.
    War has long been romanticized and glorified until the ww1 when the people saw the horrors of the trenches and realized the terror of the useless massive killings. Your poem tells us that war is nothing to be seen as good.... It is a horrible nightmare that the soldiers live.

    Your poem reminded me of Wilfred Owens dulce et decorum eat which was based on the same theme. Your poem clearly goes against the very propagated saying....' Dulce et decorum eat pro patria mori' ...

    I would again like to say what a wonderful poem... Wonderfully written...
    Excellent.

  • 10 years ago

    by Beautiful Soul

    War is something that is not talked about much anymore. This a great poem, as each detail draws you into the scene. Each line tells its own story from beginning to end. The emotions you express do play out very well, you are scared to go to war, because you do not want to lose your life. War is nothing but blood and horror. It also proves that you do not know if you will ever come back one day to tell the stories that you hold within. Great write 5/5

  • 10 years ago

    by alka mendiratta

    An excellent write that depicts the horror in the Trenches during World War One.

    "But at least I still have all my pieces
    Unlike some, who on stretchers we've laid."

    In pain,one does remember one's mother

    "If I make it back home in one piece mum
    I will never again go away."

    Loved the ending.

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