Page 5 - Walking Back Through Time

FOREWORD
THE ODYSSEY OF WAR
POEM - 'A Pilgrimage Borne from War'
Summoned by the call to arms we proudly enlist, We are the young liberators they'll send to resist. Compelled by a sense of duty to do what is right, The War is our calling - God's cause is our fight.
We fear not the harshness of a war unknown,
But then, it won't last long and we can all go home; It'll be a chance to travel, adventure at its best, We'll be back by Christmas, victorious in our quest.
Buoyant with optimism our soldiers sail South,
To a tumultuous welcome in wait at 'Hell's Mouth',
Where close-quarter combat amid mud and barbed wire, Sees 'Tommies' dodging shrapnel from deafening shell fire.
The guns boom louder now, echoing across the land, Reducing historic towns to mounds of brick and sand.
So onward to the field they go, into its world of eerie gloom, This is no place for a young man many miles from home.
Memories of fun are a far cry from here,
Where rats run rampant in trenches near.
Stark as it is, we stand stoic and true,
To our cause to free Europe which we aim to see through.
Nearing the hour the jaws of hell open wider still,
In an oncoming storm that threatens life at will;
A fierce barrage rages throughout the night,
As we steel ourselves nervously for the imminent fight.