No One Came

The radio said, “Hold till dawn.” Dawn came red, and help was gone. We dug this line through frozen clay, With farmhands learning how to aim. A mother tied her child down low, While burning stars fell through the snow. The captain marked the eastern ridge, The wounded filled the drainage ditch. Command kept saying, “One hour more.” We stopped believing at hour four. No ships above, no armor near, Just thirty rifles, mud, and fear. So pass the rounds from hand to hand - Tonight this trench is where we stand. No one came, so we became The wall, the shield, the final name. Let every promise die in flame - No one came, so we became. For every child behind this line, We buy one breath with borrowed time. If this world falls, let records say: They called for help - No one came. The militia shook beside our guns, Old miners, teachers, younger sons. We taught them signals, breath, and pace, Then wiped the terror from each face. A girl of sixteen held the wire, Her father fed the belt through fire. She asked me, “Will we make it through?” I lied the way good soldiers do. The last supply bird missed the zone, The sky went black; we stood alone. No medals here, no grand command - Just frightened people making stands. No one came, so we became The wall, the shield, the final name. Let every promise die in flame - No one came, so we became. For every child behind this line, We buy one breath with borrowed time. If this world falls, let records say: They called for help - No one came. At zero-three, the left side broke. At zero-four, we fought through smoke. At zero-five, the radios died. At zero-six, the sun still rose - And so did we. No one came, but we remained, With empty mags and blood-streaked names. The colony may burn away, But not before we make them pay. For every life that reached the rear, For every step bought here in fear, Write this beneath our final grave: No one came - And still we stayed. The radio said, “Hold till dawn.” We held past dawn. Then we were gone.