mhall46184@aol.com
The Russian Soldier, 1918
The Russian soldier, Moskina1 in hand,
Though filthy, tired, unknown, unpaid, unfed,
Fights for his God, his Czar, and his Fatherland:
No medals, no vodka, no sleep, no bread
His clumsy lowest-bidder boots,2 they rot
Into the foulness where the world’s sins pitch
Into the slime of old Iscariot3
Good men to die in some Gehenna-ditch
Saint George, Saint Michael, and Saint
Seraphim
Preserve him in the end from Judas’ crime4
Life’s-end tears, life’s-end prayers, a blood-
choked scream
And so he climbs the trench wall one last time,
Three cartridges5 clenched in his frozen fist,
He disappears at last into the mist6
1. Mosin-Nagant rifle
2. Betrayal by contractors
3. Betrayal by politicians and Bolsheviks
4. The Russian soldier does not fail in his his duty
5. Ammunition shortage / God, Czar, and Fatherland
6. The Russian soldier is known to God
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