Fair Exchange
Two soldiers sat in the rubble
Out by the Berlin autobahn,
Schulz had once been an artist, while
Ludwig came from a farm,
They huddled down as the allied planes
Roared over, dropping their bombs,
The war was pretty well done with,
They were going back to their homes.
Their Units long had been shattered
As they retreated over the Seine,
While Hitler raved in his bunker
That they should hold out, just the same,
They knew their lives would be forfeit
If they were seen there, out in the street,
So only moved in the darkness,
Prayed for the peace that came with defeat.
They each of them carried a shoulder pack
Of things they were taking back,
Some bread, a twist of tobacco
Something to barter for Cognac,
Ludwig's pack seemed to wriggle about,
To Schulz it was awful big,
And so, to allay curiosity,
He told Schulz, it was a pig!
‘I'll need it back on the farm,
Something to breed from in the peace,
The army took all our livestock,
And the farm is still on a lease.
My wife is probably starving
And the kids won't know me at all,
I found it in a deserted farm
And I plucked it over a wall.'
‘And what have you got in your pack, '
Ludwig asked, ‘a chicken or two? '
‘Or maybe a slice of bratwurst,
Give me a look, I'm hungry too! '
‘Nothing that you could eat, ' said Schulz,
‘I've a painting by Matisse,
Part of the plunder of Goering,
Fell off a truck that was heading east.'
The ground was shaking with falling bombs,
They had to cover their ears,
‘I've had enough of this war, ' said Schulz,
His eyes were filling with tears,
Then out of the firestorm came a man
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poem by David Lewis Paget
Added by Poetry Lover
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