IMPROVISED EXPLOSIVE DEVICES

.

Young men are running through the snow:
They do not know
Where or why they go;

Or they cautiously trudge,
Thinking of home:
Each is a drudge,
Carrying a hidden burden of fear

Three thousand miles to westward
Smug incompetents in lush ministry offices,
Who sent without proper protection
Each platoon and section,
Comfortably sip their coffees;

Not for them the worry that an IED
Will throw them without warning high in the air,
Blown into bloody shrieking pieces,
Slowly floating down.

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