THE STENCH

one man has gone insane with thirst and drinks
from a filthy shell-hole   the stink rank as

the pits of mud and piss in which we fight
even our bread and water smell of it

we have tried chlorinated lime to combat
the blocked latrines   our gas masks help a bit

a little cacao to stop the diarrhoea
but the sweat-reek of death is everywhere

in everything   the taste of scorching bone
at the back of the throat   the constant rain

of putrid flesh   we are carrying the dead
on our hands and feet and clothing   indeed

this is worse than any hell   the foetid
clay devours us as the world goes mad

Witnesses of Verdun: wereldoorlog1418.nl