Somewhere in Ypres

“The woods are lovely, dark and deep,
But I have promises to keep.
And miles to go before I sleep,
and miles to go before I sleep.”
Robert Frost

Curled against you
in this god-forsaken ditch
you almost make me forget
the stench of pineapple
and pepper...
the grey-green clouds

the ricochet of bullets
and the thud of distant mortar
almost forget I can hardly breathe...
the handkerchief covers
my mouth

but, for now, all
I can see is a veranda
shaded by trees – smell
the plum-jam cooling
in its jars, and all

that speaks are the stars...
somewhere the other side
of silence, and I am content

if, for a moment, to be
close to you – the moon
staining the sheets silver
your head on the pillow
your skin making fresh, white linen
seem grey...

almost forgetting
the way the cloth sticks
to your leg, and that I must
lay you on my shoulder
with miles and miles to go
before we sleep
.

(Battle of St Julien 24 April – 5 May, 1915)