THE WATER CARRIER & THE POP-UP HEAD...

 The Water Carrier & The Pop-Up Head…

The Somme:

He had volunteered.

The light was fading.

His task was to negotiate

The fringes of barbed wire

To take water and morsels of food 

To an advanced post.

Cautiously he veered

Through the dusk and shading.

He then paused, prostrate,

Deeply aware of imminent gunfire,

 Wary, engulfed by a sombre mood,

A spectre, a wraith, a military ghost…

And

As he slithered into the shell-hole

A head popped up,

Then strong arms dragged

Him to safety, 

Where sweat lay cold upon his dirtied brow

Like slack from splintered coal…

The Copse:

I had volunteered.

The light was fading.

My task was to negotiate

The rusted barbed wire

To take water and scraps of food

To a gloomy badgers’ sett.

Cautiously I veered

Past scrub and foliage, evading

Nettles then I paused to berate

Silently the inevitable stings and dire

Insects which bothered my sober mood:

An interloper with no regret…

And

As I filled a grimy water bowl

A head popped up,

Then was instantly dragged

Down to safety

And concern showed keen upon my silent brow:

An intruder with a sanctioned role…   

Pete Ray

27th August 2021

Replenishing the water for a cete of badgers was a matter of a stealthy approach towards a sett, hampered by rusted barbed wire, nettles and bothersome insects… 

As I poured water into the bowl provided, one small badger’s head popped up and looked at me.

I looked back, not daring to make a sound and it disappeared…

Six badgers soon emerged though and fed happily enough in the copse.

I thought about a WW1 advance post needing water and food and someone volunteering to evade the rolls of barbed wire and imminent gunfire to reach his goal…