There But Not There
I can imagine
Your excitement, Britons needed by your country’s army.
We too were proud, possibly barmy
Not my first war, but a world away from yours
In Afghanistan, Taliban transmute
With the release of a rifle, now a local standing
From farmer to foe and back again,
Enemy from anywhere, relentlessly disappearing,
A resurgent insurgency, dismissive of democracy
Asymmetric warfare but war is not fair
Your enemy from Germany, no different to Tommy,
Jerry and Poilu, Boche under the cosh,
Uniforms in symmetry,
In abundance, in bloodshed
Our bandits made prayer to destroy us, with as much carnage as they could bring to bear,
Rifles from a Russian called Kalashnikov.
A mass of devices, improvised, explosive
We dived for cover on those occasions
Bombs exploded the peace around us
How we laughed if we had no injury.
No match to the fire exploding upon you,
I cannot comprehend the continuous cannonade
Millions of sulphurous rounds, propelling propellant promiscuously
I know the fleeting fear of lying, waiting, alone
Wondering when death would come to claim its own
I cannot imagine biding my time
For hours and days and months
You attacked and defended, backwards and forwards
Delivering dystopia, exchanging horror
Through mud and blood and green fields beyond
As much as we ought to fight,
We sought to protect our men;
I cannot imagine leading my men to their destruction, as you had to do.
To dress up the wearing down of men,
We were wounded, treated in hospital within the golden hour,
borne by a war horse in the sky
You were lucky to survive, carted by a mule and barrow
I know the pain of death, my friends
Of souls and lives abbreviated
I cannot imagine the destruction of villages, communities, Pals Battalions, defeated
Operation Herrick killed four hundred and fifty-four in ten years
Nineteen times ten times one hundred more to die
One offensive day one First of July
By a river near Somme.
I cannot imagine seven hundred thousand lives obliterated in four years
In the despair of individuals
Irrespective of the cause, whatever the pain,
War is the same
I was there but not there
I cannot imagine,
Such monstrous anger as yours
Our youth was affected but yours
Was doomed
