Inspired by All Quiet on the Western Front by E.M. Remarque
The story of many through the eyes of one.
First World War, through the sight of man
Testament of Paul Bäumer, a German soldier
His fight for life, run from death,
Until his final one last breath.
World War I, the Allied against the Central.
Assassination of one to bloodshed of many
Young men deceived by “Glory” of war,
Join into the pointless flood,
Of the unforgiving sea of blood
Convinced by his schoolmaster,
Paul falls in line to enter the war for his country.
To only find, the truth of the lie
Of a war that could never be weighed
He is one who has been betrayed
In a war without a climax, he will fight
Eyes of the tale, sight on the field
The clock ticks on for Paul Bäumer’s time
With Stanislaus “Kat” Katczinsky, the best friend,
Till he has meet his end.
Many will die, few will endure
From enemies to classmates, all will fall.
To those who survive,
Irreversible damage is done.
That will last long after the war is won.
Kemmerich, infection of his leg.
Müller, a shot in the stomach.
Detering, death by desertion.
Leer, a shrapnel to the hip.
One by one, their lives are more are gone in a blip.
Bit by bit Paul’s sanity fades away.
As each of his friends turn from life to the grave.
Blood smashed against the walls
Voices of every scream
The only thing that fills his dreams.
Paul lives on to see his friends die.
With death, comes surviving guilt.
“Home” is a torturous place
Without a person to understand.
Paul is alone with none to hold his hand.
The final blow is Kat’s death,
Paul’s best friend and brother
The one who taught him to survive, but
A bullet to the shin, then a shrapnel to the head
Leaves Kat out completely bled.
On the day, that was all quiet on the western front
With a face of calm and the happiness of end,
Paul Bäumer dies in October of 1918.
No one to support, No one for support.
Left alone with no will and no dream
A shadow without hope. Barely, able to cope.
The life of the “Lost Generation”
That Paul escapes.
Lies of the war creates the “Lost Generation”.
Young men tricked by “Glory”,
They survive without hope and a will.
All that they see is the death and the destruction
That will never fade as they live.
-Sarah J., 11th grade