The soldier's boot

I fell into a soldiers boot,

It carried me to war.

It felt the risk on desert sand

Was swamped by boggy moor.

Absorbed the shock of shooting

And ran through fire and flood,

Kicked to test for signs of life

drank deep the beaten's blood.

It supported me in glory

Stood strong through all the pain

Cushioned me to victory

In foxholes full of rain.

And now the fighting's over

and gone the brave pursuits,

so patient, caked in memory

are my old soldiers boots.

Reviews

[James]

"caked in memory
are my old soldiers boots." As an old soldier, I can appreciate this more than most. I spent many nights in a muddy foxhole.

[alanwgraham]

This is a very imaginative twist you have used to tell this story. You need to take step back and adjust your p o v if you want to be original.

Well done.
Alan

[Taylor]

A very enigmatic poem. I can feel the sadness and melancholy. Nice to see your serious vein too.

[Tinman07]

I like this... true of war across the ages... only one reference that could date it (foxholes) as modern.
An original idea I think, so often war is described in terms of brothers-in-arms, but the boots? You can only be sure that you will start and end your day with the boots, friends are gone too easily.

[Woody]

original way to approach the topic of war and the atrocities it inevitably generates.
very nice, fergul.

[charlie]

You may not have meant for it (Idk) but the ironic senselessness of glory and bravery through this kind of death and dying is prevalent in this poem.

[h d e rushin]

there is something about a soldiers story that has the value and responsibility to be possessive .
What I mean is that, it's obligation is to possess valor and patriotism while it simultaneously extols
the virtues of sacrifice and victory. No tricks of general semantics or symbolism, just a sort of
"rawness" that all stories of war seem to dictate.

Yet It's tricky. You don't want to come across as too maudlin all while working, or trying to work,
within the confines of poetry. And by "poetry" I mean that canonic genie of spirit that take"a human form and serves all the souls who call on it. So a "soldiers boots" becomes
subordinated-ly adaptive to war (any war) without taking sides....if you know what I mean?

I like this also and not just because I can't rhyme either....lol/ well done..dana

[jacob erin-cilberto]

memories in the actual boots, memories in the heel of the mind...experiences not forgotten---

almost like a newsreel of experience reflected by the soldier who has seen it all.

i like this...
j.

[Davidgeo]

I know a guy who writes just like you. Exactly like you. I bet I can predict a lot of your topics.

FYI - You are anything but a fearless poet.

I bet you do in fact annoy the farm community though.