Silenced

We charged at them,

They charged at us.

And for what?

To gain mere inches of land,

And call it a success.

Even when we hear the painful yells of our men,

Calling for our help in distress.

I now lay among them,

In a shell hole,

Suppressed.

I lay shivering as the machine guns chatter away.

Nothing I can do.

I've been fighting this war for a while now,

And I can't stand this for another day.

The screams of the dead and dying,

The sound of the shells flying,

The courageous shouts of complying,

Only to be silenced by their guns.

And I find that silence terrifying.

And then you.

A young man,

No older than 20.

Dare to call this an adventure.

Thinking like this you'll be the next to be silenced.

Like many others who came here,

Looking for glory or to return a hero.

And now you realise,

That instead of embarking on an adventure,

You have embarked on a journey through hell.

And now you're stuck here.

No way back out. 

The only way,

Is to end this war.

Or die trying.