Why does it seem wrong? It’s all still the same: The sky’s still as blue and as bright! Yes, the trees are the same, the breeze and water the same, But he has not come back from the fight. I just don’t recall who was wrong who was right In those rows that went on through the night. But I just miss him now, now that he’s not in sight - And he hasn’t come back from the fight. Sometimes he’d sing out of tune. Sometimes not a peep. Or sometimes it was just empty prattle! He’d never let me sleep - he’d a dawn date to keep... But now he’s not come back from the battle. There’s nothing at all - no more talk I know... We were two here before - yes that’s right! Yes, the wind is to blame, we lost our campfire’s flame... No, he did not come back from the fight. And now they’ve burst out, like a captive from jail - Those words escaped in the night: "Friend, roll me a smoke!" But silence prevails. No, he hasn’t come back from the fight. Though the fallen have gone, they’re our true sentries; They won’t leave us alone in our pain... The sky shines off the trees as it shines off the seas, Turning the forest deep blue again. In that damp, narrow trench, there was space for us two; There was space for time to take flight. I’m alone here, it’s true. But seems it’s me and not you Who didn’t come back from the fight.
© John Farndon + Olga Nakston. Translation, 2022
© Anthony Cable. Performance, 2022