- Vol. 09
- Chapter 02
Partner for Life
A deafening thud hits the ground.
Shrapnel scatters in a terrifying explosion.
‘Soldier’ whinnies and rears up in pain,
His chestnut mane covered in blood.
Beloved family stallion, ‘Soldier’.
Winner of endless competitions.
Our Stables had a sculpture made
When he finished his reign as champion.
Then came the war. It was 1918 and
Our Jonny responded to the call for cavalry.
With Jonny as his groom and rider,
We confidently bade farewell to them both.
The Normandy beach loomed through the mist.
Rough rocks and bodies everywhere.
Jonny and Soldier clung together.
Splashing through the damp and misery.
Deep mud hindered Soldier’s progress.
Bare tree stumps made fingers
Pointing helplessly upwards
Towards the dark, threatening sky.
After dusk, they battled on.
Without food or water, but with
Soldier’s muscular strength
And Jonny’s tenacity.
Partner for Life
At dawn, they joined a desperate
And pointless charge towards the enemy.
Jonny felt something sharp hit his chest,
But clung to Soldier, his partner for life.
Across the black trenches and barbed wire.
Could they make it? Life seeped out from them both
As Jonny slid down onto the blood-stained mud.
Holding Soldier’s majestic head, sculpted for eternity.