Reality (ww1 1914-1918)



REALITY (WW1 1914-1918)

HOW WOULD YOU FEEL
OUT IN THE FIELD

trench foot
mortar bombs

ALWAYS ON THE ALERT
SOAKING, DRIPPING WET

bullets whistle
sirens wail

SLEEP AN IMPOSSIBLE DREAM
HEARING, SEEING, FEELING EVERY SCREAM

gunpowder smoke
gunpowder smells

METAL FRAGMENTATIONS WHIZZING BY
HEARING, SEEING, FEELING BUDDIES CRY

razor barbed wire
blood seeping

YOUR EARDRUMS BLASTING, POUNDING SORE
KNOWING LONG AGO YOU COULD TAKE NO MORE

flames exploding
bodies exploding

EYES STINGING, SCRAPING LIDS
EVERY FINGER THERE, IF YOUR GOD FORBIDS
SHOUTING, BAWLING, BELLY CRAWLING
RED, RED MUD, GROWING POOLS OF WARMING BLOOD

just an arm

A HUMAN FACE IN YOUR GUNSIGHTS
KNOWING TO PULL THE TRIGGER ISN'T RIGHT
AND ALL FOR glory
end of story

JAMES REID
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Submitted on March 04, 2013

Modified on March 05, 2023

35 sec read
8

Quick analysis:

Scheme X XX XA XX XX BB XX CC XD EE DD FFDX X AXGG
Closest metre Iambic trimeter
Characters 708
Words 118
Stanzas 14
Stanza Lengths 1, 2, 2, 2, 2, 2, 2, 2, 2, 2, 2, 4, 1, 4

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    "Reality (ww1 1914-1918)" Poetry.com. STANDS4 LLC, 2024. Web. 19 Mar. 2024. <https://www.poetry.com/poem/82707/reality-(ww1-1914-1918)>.

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    Who wrote the 1916 poem "Out, Out—"?
    A Emily Dickinson
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    C Robert Browning
    D Elinor Frost