For King and Country 1914

Roll up and play the game.

Or suffer everlasting shame.

Was the recruiter’s hearty rejoinder

Over and out

I heard my friends shout

It’s only the toss of the king’s coin

Chance would have it

To test your wit

in this lethal heroic endeavour

Believing the lie

You roll the die

For life is a fleeting happenstance

Sure-footed you go

Judging the throw

Weighing the odds against death

Somehow you have won.

Redoubling the sum

Another deadly step to take

However, devils do not play for fun

for they carry a machine gun

to complete a deathly stratagem

On and on and on

you trudge

Until life’s luck has run out

Inscribed on a white cross

Your name to sit

A poppy amongst many in solemnity.

But who cares a fuck

There is no such thing as luck

The devil always wins in the end

Roll the die and play the game.

Of war.

David Jackson

11.11.2024