Sex on the Western Front by Ronald E. Shields

The whore’s life is no laughing matter
but sometimes the sex is good
and a girl just has to giggle.
It’s no different for the boys
marching like men who can’t see the meat grinder.

Sometimes the boys whisper French into a girl’s ear.
It seems to make them more pliable and willing to laugh
but it’s a trick of the imagination,
as when the Chaplain’s sermon seems to make it easier
to die for the cause.
They pray he’s right
but really it’s just a way to keep from crying
when the sex is good.