Klipdrift basic training camp
The sun inspects
rows and rows of trees
and at night
the moon is at ease while every thing freezes
and when as a citizen you pass the gate
you become part of the machine
that hurries up and waits
and even if you have a brazen soul
some idiot with two chevrons
and crossed swords on his sleeve
makes you run to and fro
as if there is nowhere else to go
and you will not leave
this hell of a place
before he has made you run, leopard crawl
carry the pole and pee in the hole ten thousand times
and with the morning chill
a rascal with a red moustache
who drilled his son to death
and has nobody to bequeath
plays the leader of the parade
makes you stand for hours
on attention in the hot sun
while he waits for who knows what
before detonating in curses
while walking stick-straight
up and down
with a big ugly frown
and then bored to death
a fat giant appears
wearing two castles
and last night’s beer on his breath
and later from the rear
the brigadier general draws near
with gyppo guts, dysentery
and commands every new recruit
and sometimes even officers
in neatly pressed military suits
at times group together
like sheep in chilly weather
[...] Read more
poem by Gert Strydom
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