11/11

And when we finally ran out of bullets
we threw our guns down
and kept on firing with our fingers,
making BANG! BANG! noises.
I took a hit to the head,
dropped to the ground and bled
invisible blood
(buckets of).

Private Godfrey hurried across
with thirst aid (a bottle of Panda Pops)
and a plaster
for the young master
and I kept on fightin',
wondering, not for the first time,
at my pals being such rotten shots.

Now the night is coming on
and the light is fading fast.
The voices of the camp commandants
ring out like bells across the fields,
calling us in to dinner.
But war stops for nothing and no one.

B.R. 12/11/2017

Still from How I Won the War (1967)