No Man's Land

The orders came at two a.m

At dawn the first wave would advance

As prayers were said the notions fled

Of honor, glory and romance

By three o’clock their guns were firing hot

Unleashing hell upon their foe

At four fifteen he joined the line

And waited in the snow

At five we checked our gear again

The morning sun was rising then

I called on God but found no words to say

I felt alone and terrified

Though somehow, somewhere deep inside

I found the strength to face that awful day

At last the call came to advance

So up and over they all climbed

A cry went out from three thousand men

Whose destinies were surely entwined

He should be running down the winding lane

Toward the home he left behind

But now he’s charging toward uncertainty

And all goes dark within his mind

There is a girl who waits for me

Whose smiling face I faintly see

Her hair was all of gold and blue her eyes

If I could find my way back home

I’d swear that never more I’d roam

These fields that roll ‘neath dark and angry skies

The day wears on and yet we fight

The killing goes through the night

And all we gain is a bloody patch of ground

I’m wounded yet somehow I’m alive

I’ve seen such things, I doubt I’ll survive

Now I’m so lost I doubt I’ll ever be found

Dark angel of woe comes a’knocking, I foolishly let him in

He gave me a lock for my heart in trade for all the light within

I offered him more if only he’d show me one vision of you

One cannot bargain - with evil