Generals Die in Bed Poetry

Rumours coming from everywhere never knowing what to believe thoughts of battles and heroics warm food and a bed but I never get my hopes up these are just latrine rumours

Playing in the water we are young boys again splashing and jumping forgetting our troubles but the war goes on people are dying we can never escape

The sky continues to rain the wind continues to blow the sun continues to shine as we blow each other to bits

Locating locating locating fire flying through the air target hit destruction

Our energy is running out as we trudge along veins popping out faces red and blue the end is near

Pain insufferable madness taking over your entire mind and yet we march on

These poems were inspired by ‘Generals Die in Bed’ by Charles Yale Harrison. While reading the book, I was inspired by the points in the book that showed how they could never escape the war. All the high points lasted only a short while, because of the impending doom. In the last few poems, as in the book, everything starts to become darker. The main character is loosing hope. 

Sounds of thunder far away but nothing where we are fighting all over the land but waiting where we are we know nothing of the terrors ahead we just wait in the dark and quiet

The rum comes it is our only consolation as we wait The rum calmes our nerves anxiety fills our small space as we wait

We huddle in the dark the ground and roof shattering we know what comes next the candle flickers we can hear them coming closer and closer then total darkness