The Wandering Soldier

• Jonathon Horley, Grade 7, Parramatta Marist High School
• Poetry
• 2015

Excellence Award in the 'Beyond Words 2015' competition

From a nightmare I've awakened, why have I been forsaken?
How I dread when I close my eyes, the feeling I get when a man dies,
Blood, battle, pain and death as I continue down my quest,
Hearing men's forgotten sighs, losing myself to the unheard cries.
Foreign gunshots ringing in my ears, wordlessly confirming all my fears,
Weary tears fall off their faces, reminding them of our dying nations,
Hunger, torture and torment as I continue down my quest,
Soldiers dying in unknown places, fighting for our generations.
The things I see and the things I do, all I wish is to be born anew,
Lifeless bodies strewn across the fields, justice and honour they used to wield,
Nightmares full of blood and gore as I continue down my quest,
Bleeding wounds and broken shields, fighting forever, never to yield.
Surrounded by agonising screams, war is a violent dream,
Soldiers taking their final breaths, surrounded by millions of deaths,
Violence, crime and bloodshed as I continue down my quest,
‘Til the end, the wandering soldier, fights until his final breaths.