Soilder

Standing up tall, smart and brave.
Knowing he could soon be in an early grave.
His face giving nothing away, eyes fixed straight ahead.
Knowing he too, like the other men, could soon be dead.
The weather was miserable, a dirty shade of grey.
Inside he is frightened, he's been dreading this day.
They begin to move, one foot after another.
One last glance back, at his childhood lover.
Left, right left, he marched to his plane.
The colour in his face, beginning to drain.
For this was it, he was on his way to serve.
To try and win the glory that his beloved country deserve.
The next ground he stepped on, wasn't his own.
Hot and muggy, everything as dry as a bone.
Taking a deep breath, he began his journey on foot.
To his new home, a dirty trench and a sheltered hut.
His gun weighing heavy, across his shoulder.
Red hot now, but soon it would get colder.
Tired and hungry, his feet beginning to ache.
But he had to stay alert, he had to stay awake.
The air was humid, the ground ever so dry.
RAF planes above them, beginning to fly.
A shot of gun fire, a bomb dropped to the ground.
It looks like the troop of men, had be found.
The man ducked and rolled, into a pit of dirt.
As he heard the men cry out, dropping to the floor hurt.
Guns stopped, a deathly silence filled the air.
The man had to search for survivors, it was his duty to care.
Calling out, and listening for painful moans.
Amputated legs, blood and broken bones.
Two men, found alive, hurt but breathing.
The man was weak, but determined to keep heaving.
He pulled the men to safety, back to his pit.
Begging the men to stay alert, begging them not to quit.
A cry of pain, and ascream for help, coming from outside.
Should he go? Was there someone his didn't find.
Slowly, he crept out of the pit, scanning for danger.
There, in curled up in a ball, laid a complete stranger.
Warning bells should have rung, but he pushed them aside.
Now in the open, nowhere to run or hide.
The stranger called out, and more men appeared.
The moment had arrived, the moment he'd always feared.
A gun shot, and a bullet through the man's heart.
 The world began to spin, daylight starting to depart.
The darkness had took over, and the man took his last breath.
He couldn't fight anymore, he'd succumb to death.
No longer was he standing, but he was smart and brave.
A hero, an inspiration, taken to an early grave.
A medal given in his honour, received by his lover.
Who was now alone, a widowed young mother.