George Mansford

SOLDIERING AT THE SHARP END

Have you ever felt that terrible fear
Shoulder to shoulder with comrades or perhaps with no one near
Mid a swirling struggle of survival for life
In some bloody arena where warriors clash in strife

Isolated from Disneyland, make believe and fancy dreams
Tormented with doubts, sudden changes and rumour it seems
Hungry, shivering, whispering, hoping, desperate for sleep
Then sudden violent death of friends and no time to weep

Have you bid good luck to a comrade soon to die
Who stood in a metal storm to go forward and enemy defy
When it was far safer to lie beneath the howling fright
In churned sloppy mud that had been our beds for the night

While many at home with TV snacks watch global debate
In a distant place of madness, soldiers share half filled plates
Or give precious water to a fevered mate
Receive orders for a dangerous mission and wonder their fate

Picture a lonely young sentry guarding sleeping mates
Enveloped by the blackness of a long smothering night
Snapping twig? A whisper? A muffled cough? Is that a light?
A quick decision the youngster must make regardless of fright

Look, there’s a weary sapper crouched over a mine
One small error and a mother for him will pine
Now a frantic gunner adjusting artillery fire very close in
If he errs and mates do die, a life of guilt and misery for his sin

Commanders faced with the unexpected must quickly decide
Armed women in the killing ground clearly not on our side
When re-supply fails, the choice is either half rations or abort
Leave the dead and save the living if time’s critical and short

A patrol under fire, here and there, now it seems everywhere
Shoot, shoot here, shoot there, shoot every bloody where
Our wounded calling. What madness reigns in this season?
Maim, kill, survive, this is no time for Queensbury rules or reason

In life’s final phase, old soldiers often reflect past decisions
If one could remove that fateful split second from the mission
Be it shadows, noise or the unexpected in such confusing strife
It may have saved someone but surely cost at least another life

Today, another generation answers the Nation’s call
Such elite going forward with purpose to give their all
Those they serve should open history books ignored too long
If there’s to be volunteers when future buglers sound “come on”

Our masters, safe in comfort zones, should try better to understand
Life and death decisions in war by those who serve our land
And when it comes to rules authorities insist must be invoked
Why replace a proven wheel instead of just the broken spoke?