Life and Death

[heslopian]

I sometimes think about the survivors of the Great War
who came home only to die that same week
after being hit by a bus, or mugged outside their local pub
by someone else who'd seen the Somme, and through chance
had lived to kill a fellow veteran. There must have been a few.

And what did their families think?
Could they say Tom was unlucky
when only he had reached the base
all his comrades died storming
that rainy day in No Man's Land?

This to me proves death is naught
but a silent card dealer
wearing his gaudy uniform
as the players shift their eyes
and try to grasp this game of chance.

[billy]

i like the premise that death and life are games of chance, old adages but good grist for the poetry mill.
here it's mainly death that's discussed, or the surviving of it. i like the questions and the use of war and city life
to juxtapose who gets chose and when.

the last verse wasn't as fresh as the 1st 2 verse.
i think a few of the words could be removed and in doing so tighten the poem up a little.
i love the 2nd verse and what it implies, and shows.

all in all a good read, thanks.

[heslopian]

Thanks for the feedback and kind words Billy.