L'aura del Campo

Sapeur-télégraphiste [161.4] poem about my father and WW2

Sapeur-télégraphiste

He ran the wires
behind the lines
that in the north of Africa
defined hell-fire's divide
of us and them.

Communication
brought spare comfort to the front of war,
where barren back of brother
tangled with cold wires,
cooled silent in their coffins.

He aspired to the Signal Corps,
felt ired when his back was broken,
retired to a family life,
expired at the age of eighty-two,

running out of time and wire
beyond the lines dividing us,
defining us in life's hell-fire.

© Copyright 2022 Kåre Enga [161.4] (21.mars.2004)

Sapeur-télégraphiste: soldat du génie spécialisé dans les transmissions, avant que cette arme ne se détache du génie (1942). Signal Corps: The United States Army Signal Corps (USASC) is a branch of the United States Army that creates and manages communications and information systems.

Original posted in "A day of joy or sadness."  and again in " 2019年5月27日: Make-peace-not-war-blog." :

Sapeur-télégraphiste

He ran the wires
behind the lines
that in the north of Africa
defined hell-fire's divide
of us and them.

Communication
brought no comfort to the front of war,
where barren back of brother
tangled with the wires,
cooled silent in the coffins.

He aspired to the signal corps,
felt ired when his back was broken,
retired to a family life,
expired at the age of eighty-two,

running out of time and wire
beyond the lines dividing us,
defining us in life's hell-fire.

© Copyright 2004 Kåre Enga [161.4] (21.mars.2004)