They say he could see a full mile on the horizon.

They say that he could smell the seas from the plain.

I’ve heard he could dance to the rhythm of a heartbeat,

And visualize true beauty in the rain.

Rain floods the trenches on a cold darkened night,

And the battle drags on. How long must they fight?

Rats grow fat as they feast on the dead.

The constant shell impacts get to the head.

You keep your bayonet close, and your eye on no-man’s-land,

Never wanted to be proven wrong

Even when trapped in a corner

Heart thumping;

Knee's quivering;

Lip's trembling;

As my mind races to cover up yet another

There is so much beneath the surface

of what we are being told,

like cream rising to the top of milk,

like layers in the ocean,

like light filtering in only through the top.

The rest is inky darkness,