stanza 5 of small pain
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In the fifth stanza, (“I looked around…”) the soldier continues to recollect what had happened. He says that he needed help. He could be looking for assistance for two reasons. The aid could have been in the form of medical assistance, so that the soldiers could get some help and some may possibly survive. Aid could also mean reinforcements, to help him keep the enemy at bay. However, all he could see were the huge pits that were caused by bombs that exploded there. The same bombing also left his fellow soldiers dead, for he spotted ‘bodies’ and not people on the ground. Despite being all alone, he did not give up. He continued fighting them as long as he could, before the ‘small pain’ in his chest began to bother him. It forced him to stop and sit, for he was not in a position to do anything. There are undercurrents of regret, as he feels that he tried to do the best that he could, but it was probably not enough. The soldier displays immense mental strength because though he is losing control over his bodily functions, he calls the wound a ‘small pain’.