KOKODA GAME OF WAR

• Amelie Parker, Grade 8
• Poetry
• 2018

Dark clouds conceal the cerulean sky.
As the sun cowers from the depression,
Patriotic soldiers say their goodbyes ,
Hoping to save their home from invasion.
Defending New Guinea meant trekking through
The gruelling greens of Kokoda trail.
Weaving through trees, their faces filled with moues.
Nevertheless, hell bent they won’t fail.
So close now to the battlefields of doom,
For country, they carry out their duty,
River runs red, flow’rs reluctantly bloom,
They cannot avoid their debility.
Almost half gone, the mates are down by dawn.
Their naivety broken at the core.
Young , inexperienced and used as pawns.
Yes, mere chess pieces in this game of war.