20 Men

20 Men
Full battle gear on
Trying not to fall
One side a town
The other rubbish tip
Talking swaggering
With lots of off hand bantering

Then the call comes
‘Come on lads lets get the job done
Before more good old Gerry boys come.
Off at a run
Now no time for fun
Serious stuff had to be done.
Get ready lads
Hold your gun
Steady nerves.
Have no time to think,
Talk or drink
Even though mouth is fearfully dry.

Like cunning Foxes
They fought that day
Not one have they lost?
No, no one today?
Hey! Jester Joe!
Where did he go?
No one replies to their
Shouted question

They searched for their
Mate, comrade and brother
Till dusk started to fall
And danger set in.
Time to go back
‘The way we came lads’.
Their hearts heavy, dull and dented.
Back over that wall
That in sunlight was so
Full of camaraderie,
Was now silent and still.
Nineteen men half broken
Spirit dulled.
Who was going to
Make them lift again?
And get rid of their screaming cries
That their dreams hold?
Who was going to flip life upside down?
And relieve their aching frown
Many a head shook and lips whisper
Jester, Joe where is he now?

Only footsteps could be heard
Heavy footsteps tired and weary,
Eyes to the ground,
Yet another soul lost.A
‘Lads down here,’
The lad’s shocked faces looked down
As a swirl of blue hue
Came to meet their gaze.
A head could just be seen above
The stinking and festering mire.
Their greetings hurled at them
In Jester Joe’s familiar tone,
‘You bloody bastards you took your time
I’ve been stuck down here for frigging hours,
Did yer just want me to rot in this stinking hell hole?’
Smiles broke out among the men
For they knew Jester Joe
Had heard it all
Every gun shot
Every cry
And call
Of death
And war
He had to lie there
Unable to be there
For his comrades and brothers
Not knowing if any would come back at all

Together again these comrades and brothers
Laughing swearing about the day
Where was Jester Joe?
Upwind, a fair way away
The smell flew around
Their beaten bodies
Like a dead mans shroud
Engulfing them in their fear drenched clothes.
Jester Joe sits all alone
With insults flying this way and that
A smile held upon his face.
All twenty men relieved
And together again
Each knowing some of the others thoughts
And fears.