“Faithful unto death”

What rationality could horses expect
Engaged in war
Made to fight an enemy
And be cut down for sure
Up against the machine guns
And the enemy who would aim
At the horses everytime
As history did claim

Their fear must have been massive
Irrefutability
Ridden through the blazing fire
Of what was true depravity
Underfed exhausted with utter
Vulnerablity
Those that made it through the skirmishes
Were slaughtered unmistakably

Front line soldiers clearly
Were made positive that they were there
But to be a horse in wartime
Must have been utter despair
Dragging guns and ordnance
Ambulances and field kitchens too
Through deep mud under constant fire
What would it do for you

Some horses were experiments
Unwarranted untenable
Groundless and irrelevant
This was wholly damnable
Used to pass on glanders
Loose thinking thats for sure
The kind of tunnel-vision
Made in times of war

And at the end of engagements
Surviving horses some
Were Shot to death or sent off to
The slaughterhouses come
Now such a perversion
Abuse beyond the pale
Thankfully the Brooke trust was formed
And care and love prevail.

Poetry Competition