The Battlefield

The Battlefield


Deep in the black, muddy trenches,
in the fields of fallow
near Hong Kong, China,
the battle cry reverberated
through the silent mountains.

They were
fighting for peace;
fighting for freedom.
Soldiers shivered as they
sat in three inches of
cold, blood-stained water.

Bombs exploded like
bodies shaking uncontrollably.
Stop the fighting;
stop the war.
Men too scared to battle,
others lost in sweet reveries
about returning home.

Under the red sun,
they fought and lost
their young lives.
Back at home they had
queued up to sign,
to be drafted, saying,
“Fight for peace,
fight for freedom!”

Huddled in the trenches,

praying for sweet death;
screaming as the bullets
entered their flesh with searing pain.
Stop the fighting;
stop the war.