I Daren'T Close My Eyes Poem by Andrew Matthews

I stand,
I stand, not alone in no man's land,
To become a cross
Not in the mud, not in the putrid body strewn trench,
I can no longer smell that bloody awful stench
That made my stomach sore to turn and wretch.

I do not feel pain anymore
I only hurt when I close my eyes.
Why is mankind so clever yet so very unwise?
To as easily take a breath
and send another to their death,
To die by the sword as sure as a blast of crystal meth.

I was a Tommy, a pawn, so long ago
And straight through my heart now, the bullet's point would go.
Through Monet's eyes I have seen the place
Where a generation was wiped out, except the generals in their disgrace.
I dare not close my eyes for fear that I'd see
The poignant Poppy's drowned in a bloody, bloody sea.

Andrew Matthews

08/03/2009
17: 53pm