A Loving Friend; My Constant Enemy

Life itself,
Locked away inside a box.
Ageing leather masking all,
Rough for skin to touch.
To open it is to take a risk,
The absorbing musty smell..
To remember life before it was
Locked away inside a box.

Edward is my name.
Sergeant Edward Carlton Summers,
A name that meant it all,
Initials that now mean nothing.
They have seen men fall,
If that box it just had eyes.
I am sure it could recall,
The terrifying crimes.
Why did I survive?

As it clicks it all returns,
Bloodstains and burns,
Knee deep mud,
The constant thud,
The music of the time,
Sending fear down the spine,
So far from home,
But never alone,
Together we survived.

It was with me then, and is with me now.
Never off it's duty.
Close to heart and close to soul.
Tormenting but consoling.
Through my life it's travelled,
But never far.
Always there beside me.
A loving friend; my constant enemy.