The Jaws of Life

"The Jaws Of Life"
by Mark Nash

I awake in a hellhole
Worse than I was before
A hard rubber monstrosity
Slams hard into my ribs like a bayonet.

O, how I long for my trusty sidearm,
Fully loaded in my hands,
But poor me, Cal Bridges
These Germans have robbed me
Of every possession I own,
Even my precious Dapper Dan and fourteen hairnets.

As I come to, the stormtroopers yell at me
In a dialect I do not know
I'm dragged to Stalag 42, and roughly tossed in.

The room is empty, grimy and smelling of death,
I stare blankly 'round the room,
And contemplate my fate.

I was a 2nd Sergeant in the US Army,
A highly respected marksman I was
Now the predator lay in the prey's jaws.

From Oklahoma to Britain to war,
Now living amongst soulless machines
The machines I was told to fight,
And they killed people like us
'Cause all I do is disagree with them&;#8230;

Every Friday was "selection" day
No holiday in any respect
To see people I never met being slaughtered on a whim,
Superceded my loss of weight and possessions.

The officer who watches my "house",
Taunts me viciously in English
Without mercy
I finally punch him in the face,
And his shadow robots beat me, and
Curse my name.
The heads of the camp
Chew me out,
And direct me to a shower
The heaps of carcasses in the back
Kill all stride to subtlety

I stand at the doorway
And the Germans reluctantly ask for my last words.
"My one regret&;#8230;" As per Nathan Hale guidelines
The words trail off, as I see a plane fly closer in the distance
It is Allied! Here to save the day!!
"Oh Boy! Holy Cow!!" I cried out.

I let out an Ozark war whoop
And struggle free of my captors
And race away
To the gates of freedom
Bombs and bullets rack the ground
But I don't stop running.

A blizzard starts to come along
But I keep going
And early in the morning,
I see an Allied camp.
Within a few minutes,
I'm in the care of my fellow American friends.

Free at Last! Free at Last!
Thank God Almighty!
Free at Last!!