THE THOUSAND YARD STARE
Saucer eyed with whitewashed skin, the soldier stares into the distance
The noise around him fading to background static
Saw action he did this boy of nineteen, now become a man
Numb from the pain, the smoke and the blood
The edges of his vision blur so he believes he is dreaming
All his friends gone, but he must go on
Only butchery and insanity await
Detached from himself, he plays his role in this macabre theatre of war
Loaded for battle, spilt blood on his hands
Sent to kill, this empty shell
Afraid, so afraid, this young boy within
Pushed down by the false visage of a man
A veteran now this man of twenty
Horror and sacrifice fill his mind
Haunted by the barbarity of mankind
The boy can never return.
Taken from The Edge of Darkness. Copy Right James Goldsworthy 2017.
