The Last Post

The melancholic notes hung on the air
wrapping themselves around the men
in their mud-filled trenches, delivering
a message of hope they would live to see 
another day. The melodic ritual assured 
them they had, after all, endured another 
dreadful day of intolerable horror to the 
human spirit and their spirit proved it 
could tolerate that assault so why not hope 
they might outlive the conflict and return 
home... Many did, many others failed to 
and for them it was the last post they would
ever be part of in answering the call of
their country to impede and halt the
cruel march of domination and hatred
achieved through manipulating minds
to mass murder. In this war of unending
attrition where combatants faced one
another without recognition of the
humanity each represented and where
civilians too paid the ultimate price
of time and place, an unhinged world
descended the fiery halls of hellfire.
Now, the Last Post signifies not the
end of the day and sleep but war's end 
and the permanent sleep of the dead.