Listen To The Blood. A Poem.

Written in 2015

"Listen to what they did.
Listen to what's to come.
Listen to the blood.
Listen to the drum."

Beneath the cloths that wrap us round,

Cloths of hopeful ignorance,

The crimson sea of death does churn,

And devours this nation's sons.

If you listen hard and listen close,

You'll hear its eerie whisper,

As death snakes through the land,

Making the brave shiver.

A horrific sight it is,

Green fields turned bloody red.

"England's green and pleasant land" no more,

But those poor lads' eternal bed.

Yet that gushing river of blood,

Weaves a story so dear,

Each man his own Achilles,

Fighting without fear.

And the battleground murmurs:

"Listen to what they did.
Listen to what's to come.
Listen to the blood.
Listen to the drum."

-A poem inspired by James Fenton’s Blood and Lead.