War and Love/Trench Idyll
TRENCH IDYLL
We sat together in the trench,He on a lump of frozen earthBlown in the night before,I on an unexploded shell;And smoked and talked, like exiles,Of how pleasant London was,Its women, restaurants, night clubs, theatres,How at that very hourThe taxi cabs were taking folk to dine …Then we sat silent for a whileAs a machine gun swept the parapet.
He said:"I've been here on and off two yearsAnd only seen one man killed."
"That's odd."
"The bullet hit him in the throat;He fell in a heap on the fire-step,And called out 'My God! dead!"
"Good Lord, how terrible!"
"Well, as to that, the nastiest job I've hadWas last year on this very frontTaking the discs at night from menWho'd hung for six months on the wireJust over there.
The worst of all wasThey fell to pieces at a touch.Thank God we couldn't see their faces;They had gas helmets on …"
I shivered;"It's rather cold here, sir; suppose we move?"