War of Sounds

Drip Drop Drip

Is that the sound of squalid rainwater

Running through the mud in torrents

Or the steady beat of spilled blood

Writing my comrades death warrants

Tick Tock Tick

Is that the sound of time rushing by

As I sit confined to misery and boredom

Or the countdown till I too shall charge

Headfirst in to the unknown and become part of Dulce et Decorum

Left Right Left

Is that sound of sentries being posted

As monotonous orders are being given

Or the call of the Boche stood beside

As toward the camps more prisoners are driven

Run Go Run

Is that the sound of a messenger

Being sent once again on an uneventful journey

Or the order of our dying officer

As we try hopelessly to escape a suffocating green sea

Crack Bang Crack

Is that the sound of a familiar friend

Spotting enemies with its light, a flare

Or the sound of imminent pain and suffering

Which we fear more than death, a shell screaming through the air

Scratch Itch Scratch

Is that the sound of lice being found

And rats gnawing against aging wooden walkways

Or the sound of hands clawing at doors

Desperate to escape the incoming gas and live a few more days

Ah Oh Ah

Is that the sound of fellows tucking in

Preparing their fox holes for sleep

Or the laboured grunts of undertakers

Burying those who fought for King and Country three deep

Silence

Is that the sound of the end

Or just the beginning