JUNGLE SOLDIER, A poem by Bob Shepherd

The tropical rainforest is now my home

For the next ten weeks this is where I’ll roam

Living with wild animals I’ll be at one

Carrying my life in a Bergen along with my gun

“Slowly…slowly…catchee monkey” is always our aim

The manner in which was learned from Borneo fame

Moving with silence and total stealth

We were taught by the best, they gave us this wealth

Under the jungle’s canopy it’s damp and cool

Up and ready before first light is our daily rule

Patrolling day by day can take it’s toll

So we move with precision to avoid a fall

Gliding through the trees in our small patrol

Every inch of the way we’re in total control

Looking for enemy sign as we navigate our way

Also listening and smelling for a hint of a give away

We’re on hard routine during our six day op

eating and drinking cold so the enemy don’t have a pop

It’s extremely hard graft as we inch along

Tuned into the jungle and not to a song

Awareness is everything and then it goes quiet

Is this the insects and animals alerting us to a potential riot?

Are we about to be banjo’d as there’s now not a sound?

I’m scanning for cover there’s lots to be found

A buttress of a giant tree is just to my right

Great initial cover if we have a firefight

Breaking contact from the enemy to remove the threat

It’s drilled into all of us we’ll never forget

We’re here for one another mates left and right

We’ll fight for each other even through last light