Doc

I submitted this poem into a competition on Writing Forums. The topic was War.


Shivering
Starving
Quiet
Except for the occasional grenade that goes off in the distance

Trenches
Snow
Forest
Seeing nothing in front of me due to the heavy mist

Memories
Images
Tears
For the French girl that I met in the hospital in Bastogne

Looking around at the few men who have managed to live through this
Knowing that this may be the last time I see them
Be it from the Germans who we know are waiting just through those trees
Or from the intense cold that is eating through our bones

The supplies were supposed to arrive today
But we received word that they are not coming at all
We do not have enough food, warm clothing or ammunition
To make it through another day

There is an uneasy feeling within the men
We can hear the German’s chatter from beyond the trees
It is so difficult to stay aware
A cold pain is consuming me

These men have come so far
Fought many battles and survived
Now they may die, not from a bullet
From hunger or hyperthermia

I walked around the trenches today
Trying to help those who seemed to be battling
I gave my ration of soup to a young man who must have been little of 18 years old
My shoes were in better condition, so I gave those to him too

Some of the men are pacing
Trying to keep a blood flow to their feet
The sky is a deep grey
Nature is completely still

I hear a faint whistle-like sound in the air
Followed by a massive crash
I see a comrade of mine battling flames that are lapping at his uniform
Another man lying on the ground, both legs severed from the blast

The Germans have no pity
Bomb after bomb
Shattering our safety
Dismembering us

I am the Medic
I hear men screaming my name over the constant bombings
I want to run, hide
Where I no longer have the responsibility of saving men with no hope

I have nothing
No morphine, no bandages, no scissors
I am wrapping wounds with old food sacks
And giving alcohol to ease the pain

I have no way of cleaning the wounds
If they do not die now
They will later from infections
I am the Medic, and I can do nothing to save them

We have been fighting for years
Struggled through so many battles
We have finally reached a point where victory is within reach
But our own army cannot send us the supplies we desperately need

I am the Medic
I have saved so many men
I have nothing anymore
I want to go home