Written During An Airplane Attack by Daniel Hutner
Written During An Airplane Attack by Daniel Hutner American Volunteer Killed In Action –September, 1937
The Volunteer for Liberty, V. 1, No. 15, September 20, 1937
Dawn still sleeps; but we awake,
Aware that soon those shadows in
The sky may hover.
Everywhere about us the earth is raw,
With wounds from shells and bombs, and holes
Dug by men.
Blood has flowed here, has wet this earth
On which we lie; and blood will flow again –
But our thoughts are not of this.
We oil our guns, adjust our clothes,
Dig deep the earth –prepare to hide in it,
To hug it close.
And then those shadows come! We seize upon the earth
We have prepared –become part of it –
Become earth…
Not a finger moves; expectantly we wait –
Some fearfully –for a sign: are they theirs,
Or ours? Marked with red or black?
Then suddenly the roar! Earth again is torn,
Into a million parts leaps high; and shrapnel spreads
And mingles with the smoke.
More! And more! Closer! More deadly:
Intenser –bombs –cries of pain from mules and men,
All covered by earth and dust…
Then silence… The beasts have gone…
We tear ourselves from the earth,
Become men again.
