The Insignificance of Time

By Zoha Jabbar

Inspired by Siegfried Sassoon's poem, "Attack"

Remnants of the soldier's earthly tenure;
battle scars and blood-stains.
Crimson gashes contrast sharply 
with the pale flesh of the corpse.
Wide eyes that see nothing,
Mouth still forming those shouts of warning
his lips had strained to utter.

Silence now prevails,
punctuated only by the soft ticking of a wristwatch.
Ridiculous, isn't it, that time ticks by on his wrists?
Time, it is of no consequence anymore.
Time ticks by no longer for the soldier,
his time on earth has ended.

He is merely carrion,
Food for the circling vultures.
The vestiges of his life lay in the field,
In pools of scarlet,
Staining the purple petals of the Asters
that surround his body.