Dan Pyzer Knapp - Ready and Waiting

Its all quiet.
For now at least.
They all wait in line.
Silent.
Not daring to move.
The soldiers stand
rank on rank, row on row,
ready. Waiting.

The sun rises over
the trenches,
filling the sky with a
beautiful red.
Blood red.
The soldiers stand
still. Ready. Waiting.

The tension is evident,
the soldiers are anxious.
Will they survive to see
another sunrise.
But for now they are
standing, ready. Waiting

A cold breeze blows
across the trench,
making men and boys shiver
in their muddy kit.
Still ready. Waiting.

Now light is streaming
across 'No-Man's Land.'
The time has almost come.
But they are ready. Waiting.

The word goes out,
the hour has come.
Ready. No more waiting.

Over they go,
ready for anything; the wait is over.

The rest is silence.

Dan Pyzer Knapp

http://www.poemhunter.com/poem/ready-and-waiting/