Just A Lesson.

"And then the shelling stopped"
The tutor paused
For effect
And because he heard the silence.
Heard it as clearly as in 1916.

"Did you hear that?"
He asked,
Wanting them
To be there as he was
Every time he told the tale.

Concerned faces looked up,
"We heard you"
Said one
But the guns stopped,
Did they miss the silence?

Later in the empty room
He collected the papers
And left the trenches.