Well If You Ever Need An Excuse To Cry...

[kvalidir]

I SPOKE TO YOU IN WHISPERS
By
Neil Andrew

I spoke to you in whispers
As shells made the ground beneath us quake
We both trembled in that crater
A toxic muddy bloody lake
I spoke to you and pulled your ears
To try and quell your fearful eye
As bullets whizzed through the raindrops
And we watched the men around us die
I spoke to you in stable tones
A quiet tranquil voice
At least I volunteered to fight
You didn't get to make the choice
I spoke to you of old times
Perhaps you went before the plough
And pulled the haycart from the meadow
Far from where we're dying now
I spoke to you of grooming
Of when the ploughman made you shine
Not the shrapnel wounds and bleeding flanks
Mane filled with mud and wire and grime
I spoke to you of courage
As gas filled the Flanders air
Watched you struggle in the mud
Harness acting like a snare
I spoke to you of peaceful fields
Grazing beneath a setting sun
Time to rest your torn and tired body
Your working day is done
I spoke to you of promises
If from this maelstrom I survive
By pen and prose and poetry
I'll keep your sacrifice alive
I spoke to you of legacy
For when this hellish time is through
All those who hauled or charged or carried
Will be regarded heroes too
I spoke to you in dulcet tones
Your eye told me you understood
As I squeezed my trigger to bring you peace
The the only way I could
And I spoke to you in whispers......

[Mamyalynne]

It's on quite a few other forums too with no details of the author.

[emmie]

it's a sad but beautiful piece.

[gness]

Googling Neil Andrew Hornby shows some wonderful poetry....but nothing about the man...assuming Neil Andrew is Neil Andrew Hornby???

[bainbrig]

Yes, from the style and content I’d say you were right, Neil Andrew Hornby.

[emmie]

over a million horses, mules, donkeys were killed in WW1, something to think on, tragedy is that when it was all over many of the horses that survived were sold to the French for meat...