A poem for Remembrance Day

No Birds Sang

Through the smoke the wire coiled,

snagged with the remnants of humanity.

Fighting paused for a single moment.

In the forests, no birds sang.

~*~

A creeping menace, sulphurous, deadly,

seared the lungs and ignited fear.

Shouted warnings through the trenches.

In creeping silence, no birds sang.

~*~ 

Men waiting, huddled together,

for their turn to head over the top.

Bonds formed and friendships destroyed.

Before the signal, no birds sang.

~*~ 

The trenches slick with mud and blood.

Dark humour from those who survived.

Glory is not a prize worth having.

In hell on earth, no birds sang.

~*~ 

The cold grind of metal machines,

a huge, deadly crushing force;

the ground torn in staccato bursts.

Amidst the chaos, no birds sang.

~*~ 

Heat and dust, hidden faces

Who to trust, no-one knows

A IED shatters the silence.

 In the cold of night, no birds sang.

~*~

In quiet graveyards we remember.

Ghosts crowding around the tombs.

Poppies show past sacrifices.

For one brief moment, birds will sing.