The sun pushed through the thin cotton curtain
Dreams of battle afresh in my head
I rubbed my eyes to wish them away
The visions of battle as I woke up
The chants rose high from the park bandstand
For God and country we’d make a strong stand
Enlisted was I, the next morning I’d find
A shadow of doubting as I woke up
Two days training and uniforms pressed
Did we think the enemy soldiers would be so impressed
When I saluted a sergeant younger than I
My mind seem to open and I woke up
To realize the plight of most of my friends
Their families would never see them again
So I prayed beyond reason and crawled in my bunk
Hoping for an answer before I’d wake up
Sardines in a ship hull was our fresh platoon
We put on brave faces as we left the lagoon
Two days on the rolling sea before I found sleep
The stench of sickness wafted as I woke up
Abrupt on the foreign shore our captain called orders
To give it our all and push back the borders
The man beside me was quickly mowed down
I knew what “our all” meant and I woke up
I dove for the cover of my fellow soldiers
The dead who had dutifully followed their orders
They spared me the same fate and seemed to whisper
Remember my sacrifice when you wake up
So frightened that many of us soiled our britches
But with numbers we established the first line of ditches
Exhaustion forced my eyes closed that night
Inbound shells my alarm clock as I woke up
The mud layered on me like a second skin
The days of dead comrades started to blend
I wondered if I’d soon meet my end
I oft wish it would happen, then I’d wake up
Two years in the trenches before the war’s end
To come home and be happy would be to pretend
For I know the reality, political powers
Don’t give a rat’s buttocks if I wake up
Back at home I endeavor to keep to myself
Ashamed that I lived, of clean boots on the shelf
I struggle to make it through until night
Then I relive murderous battles until I wake up
Consider my words, a tale cautionary
Before you enlist, hear my voice tell you “Be wary.”
For you may suffer the fate of my brothers in arms
Or wish away nightmares when you wake up
By Royce Waxenfelter
9/15/21
