Was It Worth It?

• Joel Holford, Grade 12
• Poetry
• 2017

There was motion in the trenches, for the warning call went up
The Sergeant yelled “Stand to”, and the whole platoon jumped up
And all the diggers grabbed their guns as they hurried to the wall
But poor James who stood next to me, took a bullet to the eyeball
The young bloke fell backwards, as German guns spat their flames
Such talent now gone to waste, he‘d run in the Olympic Games
I took a breath and let a shot off at the men charging up the hill
Then I dropped back down again, didn’t even see who I’d killed
Then Mark and Gary ran past me headed for the machine gun
The Lieutenant yelled at them to man it, before we were over-run
A German jumped into the trench but got stuck in all the mud
But one bayonet thrust later, and now I am covered in his blood
The machine gun started up and the Germans began to drop
And as you pull the trigger you think, “How many lives did I just stop?”
And one day we might remember all the lives that were lost
Brothers, Mates and fathers, but never forget that freedom has a cost.