Shot at Dawn
18/10/2014
As time passed me by last night my eyes were open wide
My mind upon the morning my fear I could not hide
I knew that time could not stand still, no not for anyone
Yet there I lay just waiting for the rising of the sun
The darkness meant I could not die for the major he had said
Shoot him in the morning when the sun is over head
I had never been a bad man my crime was only fear
I had frozen refused to go when the whistle blew so clear
I'd done it many times before jumped up, gone o'r the top
Yet yesterday my body froze I was like a broken clock
I could hear and see my friends doing as we had before
Yet there I was just frozen I couldn't go once more
I had seen so many horrors and watched so many die
There I stood with comrades yet all I did was cry
For days I hadn't eaten except for bread and tea
My mind was now a muddle but this they couldn't see
The sun it started rising and I was bowed in prayer
Me and several others were left just standing there
A hankie placed to mark my heart glinting in the sun
I knew that now it was my time as I heard the click of a gun
We were labelled cowards shot each day at Dawn
Now they know of shell shock and no longer are guns drawn
To shoot a wounded soldier who's mind is not quite there
Remember us the " lost ones" next time you say a prayer
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Submitted on December 13, 2015
Modified on March 14, 2023
- 1:24 min read
- 101 Views
Quick analysis:
Scheme | AABB CCDD XXEE FFGG HHBB IIHH |
---|---|
Closest metre | Iambic heptameter |
Characters | 1,285 |
Words | 276 |
Stanzas | 6 |
Stanza Lengths | 4, 4, 4, 4, 4, 4 |
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"Shot at Dawn" Poetry.com. STANDS4 LLC, 2024. Web. 10 Jun 2024. <https://www.poetry.com/poem/44175/shot-at-dawn>.
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