Ordered home
By Norman E. Hall Sr.
I have heard the bullets whistle,
I have seen the bayonets kill,
I have seen the Germans charge us
From the trenches on the hill.
I know the moaning of the wounded,
And the odor of the dead,
The hum of enemy airships
Booming us from overhead.
But my heart is sad and weary,
And I wish someone would say
There’s a transport in the harbor,
And we’re ordered home today.
I have worked in muddy Flanders,
And fought at Kemmel’s side,
Have lain in gassy shell-holes
Where other comrades have died,
Seen my pals go down beside me,
And the enemy ramming hard,
Others stick to the machine-gun nests
And fight to the very last.
But I’m tired of this cruel war
And its damnable cruel ways.
I am faithfully waiting to hear the command,
“We’re ordered home today”.
I’ve seen the Germans in the dugouts,
Murder shining in their eyes,
Heard my pal calling, “Mother,”
As he lay right down and died,
Seen the fatal mark of shell-shock,
On the pal just gone along,
Seen the hot breath of liquid fire
On the wounded mangled throng.
All the francs I ever held for
The simple words I pray,
“There’s a transport in the harbor,
And we’re ordered home today.”
Hark, I hear a siren moaning
Out beyond the conodor,
‘Tis the gray old Army troop-ship
Coming from the home-land shore,
And it is calling, softly calling me
To come across the sea,
Where a mother and a sweetheart
Long, look, and wait for me.
My soldier days are over and
I need no longer stay,
“There’s a transport in the harbor,
and we’re ordered home today.”
Editor’s note: The author, Norman E. Hall Sr., born in 1894 to Franklin and Inez (Morrell) Hall of the Reach Road (today Higgins Road), served with the National Army during World War I from March 29. 1918 to April 3, 1919 when he was honorably discharged after being wounded in action in France. Mr. Hall’s legacy continues today with a tradition of military service carried on by sons and grandsons. The poem and photos were contributed by his daughter-in-law Mrs. Norman E. (Marie) Hall Jr. of Presque Isle.
Norman E. Hall Sr.
