You lucky- “no unlucky” soul

“My eyesight was bombarded, with puffs of black smoke,

and the aroma would slither inside, and it would ‘make-

me’ choke”!

Cordite was the smell, that came from an explosion close-

by,

and my thoughts were of concern, and no longer featuring

in the night sky”!

The plane was rocking because of the explosions of black,

that were like jets of dark ink, that underlined our attack!

We flew through the air without style or grace,

but our aim was to do our job, and then get out of this place!

The dark sky was lively, but it wasn’t dark for long,

because they shot flares up, to illuminate this wrong!

Life seemed to be cheap, and many would suffer and die,

and many fought for ‘the cause’, but they didn’t know why!

The bombs were so loud, and their threats were so near,

and this situation was dire, and it was one we would all fear,

because we were bullied and battered, but we weren’t yet down,

and I would fear crashing into those in the nearby town;

“Yes”, innocent lives would be killed, and deleted from this earth,

on this blood stained planet, like it suffered a difficult rebirth!

I learnt from school, that one kids naughty behaviour could affect

the whole class -

and nobody liked these ‘kids’, who just needed a slapped arse!

Our cumbersome appearance in the air was precarious, and would be of grave concern, because our path was like a drunkards staggered walk home- “three hours after he vacated the nearby pub”! We were trying to regain a controlled stability of the plane, that now seemed out of control, and I could feel that we were going down!

Our descent did have a precarious, and a desperate immediacy, but the pilot attempted a safe landing in a clearing close to a wooded area, and, fortunately for me, our descent was now a controlled glide, and the nose of the plane was upright now, and I was a gunner in my glass compartment in the nose of the plane.

The impact of our heavy bomber crashing on the ground, would be devastating and fatal - “for all, except me”!

The plane landed with the rear of the plane hitting the ground first, and this would, sadly, be fatal for those brave airmen behind me, because the tail of the plane broke off first, and it exposed the men inside, who would sadly all depart, like they were all discarded toys falling from a bin, and as the plane’s carcass sped forward, the rest of the plane crumbled, but, by fortune my compartment remained upright, up until the planes eventual stop!

When the plane eventually stopped my compartment had been shattered, and this glass cage was relatively easy to escape from, and after I had broken free from my shattered cage, I staggered away from this battered bomber, that was now alight, and I immediately looked for places to hide, but my worrying thoughts were temporarily interrupted by the exploding plane that I had just vacated; My upset and my thoughts were with those brave men inside, whose life stories were shared, and would now be remembered, and I was remembering what the pilot had said, before we crash landed, and that he was trying to avoid the wooded area, ‘as well as’ the houses close by, so I knew that I would have plenty of hiding places!?

I would then hear voices, and they were foreign voices, and my ignorance towards such foreign sounds, would mistakenly presume that they were German! I had to urgently discover a hiding place, where I could assess the situation, before further movements could be made, but without a map, and without any signs, my assessment would be of minimal use, and so I would treat anyone, who had a foreign accent as being German!

I was walking wearily forwards, but I wouldn’t, and didn’t know if I was walking in, and towards the correct area where freedom could be found, and I could only hope! I would, also find out that I had been injured in this crash, via the discovery of a blood stained vest, that was underneath my heavy bomber jacket, and it would reveal ‘gashes’ that would usually require some immediate stitching and attention! But, for now those thoughts, and that concern, would be violently interrupted by the sudden explosion of the shattered plane that I could have still been in, and used as kindle for its wild fire!

The plane would explode, but only after I got out,

And I was extremely fortunate, and the luckiest soul about,

But I was on my own, and I feared the worst,

and the heat of this night, would encourage a thirst!

But, where should I go, in which direction should I run,

I had no map, no supplies or money, and not even

a gun!

I was hungry and cold, vulnerable and scared,

but, there were soldiers who had been here, ever since war

was declared!

So, there would be no moaning, when there are those worse

-off than me,

but my situation was dire, and it was someone of medical

knowledge that I needed to see,

but I had survived the crash, and when that probability

would seem grave,

and ‘some people’ would call me lucky, whilst others might

call me brave?

I would be the only person to survive the crash, which would be of remarkable note, but the hidden injuries could be felt now, and I desperately required attention; those men that were patrolling these woods were my only option to get any possible help from, and living-out the War in a prisoners hospital camp seemed be a favourable option compared to death!

I would reluctantly approach these men with guns and attitude, and with my hands up, to suggest my surrender, I boldly staggered forward to ‘show myself’, and my weakening presence was soon spotted, and then I would soon become a potential target for their threatening rifles to aim at, but instead, my uniform was identified, and their behaviour and mood changed, and they would become friendlier, and they lowered their threatening rifles, as I could feel my cuts secreting more blood, and this was obviously a clear sight now, because it was of a concerning sight, BUT I never knew of how this happened! I don’t think that it was a bullet wound or some shrapnel, but they were the most realistic options! The evening was certainly adventurous, noisy and seriously threatening, and whilst the nights noisy conflict was proceeding, I could have quietly and easily sustained a bullet wound, or a shrapnel wound, that is only clearly visible and noted now!

One of the men approached me, but it wasn’t a man, and it was instead a short haired woman, and she would show the concern, and the care that you might associate coming from a female a nurse, and I would immediately accept her kindness, and her concerned medical knowledge and her help, and I would surrender my body to her, as I lay in her arms, and waited to accept death and its eventual peace, and hopefully drift to a place where pain would no longer be a feature!

I had escaped death by explosion, and instead it might be peacefully in the caring arms of a young woman, who was identified as being French, and someone who was also, ironically, fighting for peace!