Where the moonlight’s glow struck the forest edge,

as time moved through the patrol I did walk,

there a sound of whimpering from the hedge;

an enemy, a kid too scared to talk.

Too dark to wander away from the front,

his bearings gone, his face a look of lost,

a chased rabbit on the loose he did hunt,

though he little knew what his choice would cost.

To stand, I did bid him, to man his gun

and find for himself bravery in war.

For mercy he look’d; in me, he found none.

A shot and a bang, what was it all for?

My life after lived, remembering so.

And was it all worth the price? Answer: No.