Tony McNally

GREEN MAGGOT

The war rages on and the cold bites my soul
My fingers are numb and I laugh at my blood
But I know I will be ok in the ice tonight
I’ve got my ‘green maggot’.

I see my friend die his brains vaporise in the sky
I run and I jump and I scream and I cry
The firefly-like tracer bounce and spin from the mountain
But I’ve got my ‘green maggot’

I have no more strength but I run like an athlete
In an Olympic gold medal race
The cold cuts my face but I care not a jot
I can feel I’m alive
I want my ‘green maggot’

I’m back in the womb snug cosy and content
We’ve taken the objective I have two hours grace
I slip into dreamland full of warm pillows and safety
How I love my ‘green maggot’

©Copyright April 2002 by Tony McNally

Author’s Note: A green maggot is slang for an Army sleeping bag. Soldiers fighting infantry battles in the Falklands did not have this luxury