The One They Couldn't Save

They lie in the muddy trenches, out of sight.
When they hide from attackers in the low must light,
The enemy breeched their quarters; they took down the fences,
Rifles at hand, the battle commences.

A gas bomb exploded, the air grew thick,
A struggle with masks, the gas was too quick.
One boy lost his life, in a battle he could not win,
A letter was sent, back home to his kin.

The long journey home, he wouldn't remember,
Not a day to be said on the 25th of December.
They said the war would be finished that day,
The boy's family could not have their say.

Only nineteen years old, they closed the door.
All he got in return, for fighting this war,
Was his name, on grave;
The one they new they could not save.