Beneath La Boisselle
An underground eye, dark
as a seabed,
a chalk wall made smooth by
the passing of men.
It does not blink at the crowding
shadows, fall of rock,
candle-flame’s loss,
echo of running feet,
last outbreathing.
Two men, still, at the shaft’s base.
It does not blink at the lowering
of a canary in its cage, shouts
from above,
silence from the sap.
But, at the second bird’s
two dying notes,
the eye hardens into flint.
Vanessa Gebbie is the author of one novel, two short story collections, editor of one text book, and writer of some poems. This is her website: www.vanessagebbie.com
Note: A team of military historians is studying a unique piece of First World War battleground at La Boisselle on the Somme, including an extensive complex of tunnels cut deep in in the chalk. The bodies of at least thirty soldiers and tunnelers are known to rest beneath the surface. Further details can be found at www.laboisselleproject.com