The Nameless Mound

The thicket blazed on mountain slopes,
And with it blazed the setting sun,
Of eighteen friends, who fought and strove
But three of us were still in sight…
Too many friends, who took a killing,
Now lie in darkness in the ground –
By an unknown distant village
Beneath a nameless battle mound

The missile raced and fell and shone –
A shooting star that kills and rends,
And if you saw its ghastly glow
You’ll never dare to forget,
Will not forget the foe who pillaged
Our towns and lives and all around –
By an unknown distant village
Around a nameless battle mound

The night lit up with deathly weather,
The German fighters roved and whirled,
But we stood fast and held together,
When raging fire shook our world,
And when the airplanes whistled, reeling,
We held our own, victory-bound –
By an unknown distant village
Atop a nameless battle mound,

I often dream and see their faces,
My dear friends of battle days,
Our cold bunker, missiles racing,
The pine that burned up in a blaze…
As if again we brace up, willing
To give the foe another round –
By an unknown distant village,
Around a nameless battle mound…