推 hahastarr:Oh I want a dogtag! 08/27 15:29
will i live to see tomorrow?
in a crowded waterproof tank we float
slowly away from our mothership
receding from the guarantee of life
into what in a few minutes will be
a living hell
in our pockets are letters to loved ones
cigarettes in place of nutrition
and around our necks
dogtags
to tell our men which soul our corpse belonged to
we sing psalms and laugh nervously
suddenly
the coxswain gives a yell
the front ramp comes down and we
in our little wooden rickety boats
are shoved into the open sea
to sail for the black beach
underneath the smoking volcano
black sand its volcanic ash
there is no sound of gunfire
we make the beach and secure a space
for materiel behind us just minutes away
then we dig foxholes we
try to dig foxholes but the ash wont hold and we cant hide and then it begins to rain
bullets
cries of agony fill the air the man on my left
is hit
the sergeant is hit the radio is hit the rest of us
fall flat
onto the ash
we breathe it in and make snow angels
try to bury ourselves
faintly ever so faintly
a whistling sound is heard
it drops in pitch
it grows in volume
it disappears with a soundshockwave
blasting me numb and punching up
a wave of ash that covers me
in front of me lands an arm
bleeding out the elbow
the fingers still twitching
cries of medic! sound like acapella
again
and again
the mortars keep falling
blood and brains and intestinal fluids
darken the ash
i turn to seek our materiel
only to see
burned out transports
sinking with all our hopes of living
through this hellhole
the mortars stop
the gunfire stops
i start the lords prayer our father
who art in heaven
hallowed be thy the japs are charging!
someone shouts as if we couldnt see
the swarm of fierceeyed suicidal men
closing distance much too fast
i shoot one down
then another
then another but they keep on coming theyre too close i pull out my bayonet no time to attach it a jap jumps on me i roll over he stabs the ash i slit his throat
blood
splatters the ash
covers my face
gets on my rifle so i wipe it off with my hands
the M1 Carbine is my Lifeline my Fifth Limb
the only limb worth protecting
congealing bloodash can jam It
so i wipe it off
and leave it to congeal on my hands on my face
more gunfire
more mortars
explosions behind me
surrounded! i turn
prepared to fight to the death
and see our Navy those Guardian Angels
blasting shells at newfound jap positions
as they shoot over my head
each one a prayer a shooting star
they hit the fortified hills with an almighty
roar
shrubs fly into the air
the sky is a screen of dirt and ash
the earth quakes
not the volcano erupting
but the full fury of our cover
a heavenly earthquake
thank god for our Navy
we fight on
we inch forward in yards-per-hour
we die in dozens-per-minute
but forward we inch
onward we fight
blood flowing from my shrapnel wounds
weary
oh so weary
water
food
rest
my rifle grows heavy
my eyelids droop
i turn my head to lie flat and rest
just ten short minutes
thats all i ask
and in my blurrying vision
i see on the volcano summit
a flag
slowly rising
twenty degrees
forty
sixtyfive
ninety degrees the wind blows it open its
ours! Old Glory
shining bright!
all around me erupt not blasted ash but cheers
and with a howl i push myself up to win this goddamned war
not for freedom
not for country
not for family
for those crazy flagraising bastards not to have risked their lives in vain
for the dead and dying that litter the beach
for the weary and shellshocked who can still give a cheer
i fight
because they too are fighting for me
so i pick up my rifle
and soldier on.
--
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※ 編輯: spacedunce5 來自: 1.161.16.182 (08/22 22:39)
※ 編輯: spacedunce5 來自: 114.42.248.139 (08/24 10:38)
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