Going Over the Top
"I'm scared sir."
It had all built up to this. This one moment. It was all he'd thought about. All he'd waited for. He'd been going on about it since the first day he'd stepped into the trenches. Going over the top; it didn't seem so easy now.
"I'm scared sir." Spoken words ringing so true now. Scared; scared of those damn Germans, scared for his life, scared for his friends...Scared that this was it. His life spent on some stupid dream that was never going to come true.
"I'm scared sir." Perhaps he had been wrong, when he and the tiddlywinks crew had signed up. Perhaps life didn't have to be about heroes and glory and fighting for your country. Perhaps he would have been better off at home. With his family. Perhaps it would have been better to settle down with someone and ignore the war. Myabe that's just naive.
"I'm scared sir." He wasn't ready to spill his blood on a battlefield. He was too young to die. He wondered why he had joined in the first place, now that he was here. It wasn't supposed to be like this. Never like this.
"I'm scared sir." What am I going to do?
"I'm scared sir." I'm not ready for this.
"I'm scared sir." I don't want to die yet.
"I'm scared sir." Help me.
"I'm scared sir." This is such a mess.
"I'm scared sir." When is that ever going to be enough?