Hard back
pages, stained with time and
an aged aroma.
1915. A battle is painted.
Acid slashing,
spitting.
Direct eyes leap from a tiny cliff
onto young bodies. Bloodied. Abandoned.
Somewhere, some mothers stand as sharp
as shrapnel,
bullets piercing their wombs,
their children’s supple homes.
Trembling hands
find a gun
and
a buddy. A soldier. A boy.
Death has no time in
these fields. He is hurried.
Frontal attacks sweep
unprotected spots. Blurring instinct.
Blinding the Earth with a scarlet bath.
Burying dirt with
young boys,
men.
1915. Hard back pages, stained with
memory and
the scent of suffering.
And this….
just the beginning.
*About The Charge by W. Douglas Newton.
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This is really great.
For me to say I like this isn’t enough – you have me enthralled with your words today 🙂
I love this Maggie, well if love is the correct word it says it all to me. May I use it in poetry Challenge this Sunday , my challenge is to publish and then precise or critic a war poem from ww1or ww2 . Yours though not written then should of been. You will get full credits . I await your answer. 😀 willow
absolutely! Please do!
I have just looked again , did you write this after reading W. Douglas Newton’s article on Mons.
I wrote it after reading his short story, The Charge.
you wrote it perfectly!
I find this a very effective poem and these lines particularly moving.
‘Trembling hands
find a gun
and
a buddy. A soldier. A boy.
Death has no time in
these fields. He is hurried.. ‘
Thank you for this one.
I can’t think of the word that I want in English. In French, it’s “saisissant”, which means that it “grabs” you. If I think of it in English, I’ll come back!
This is forceful and recalls some of the First World War poetry of the time.
Hi Maggie, may I use your poem The Charge for my Poetry Challenge tomorrow I shall make sure that you get the credit! 🙂 😀 xx
please do!
Thank you !
I’m trying to stop all the comments of other people coming to me via Email but I’m still getting them.
[…] maggiemaeijustsaythis wrote the poem above after reading an article for the news Papers Mons . written by W Douglas Newton. I can find no information on W Douglas Newton himself apart from the fact that he was a prolific writer who wrote fiction and fact about war. His books and articles painted a truer picture than any of the propaganda released at the time. maggiemaeijustsaythis called her poem The Charge […]
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