In 2019 I signed up for a short creative writing course which mostly revolved around poetry, and was way out of my comfort zone. My poetic endeavours tended to be humorous and written in less than twenty minutes. Now I was expected to write a real poem. Instinctively turned to a subject with which I was at ease and discovered that fear can generate results. 
Rules of Engagement
In the lamp-lit room, tonight, shadows multiply.
As twilight tiptoes away, the ghosts emerge.
Uninvited they enter, unwelcome they remain.
The dead of Badajoz, the shades of Corunna.
Echoes of the past, reflections of the future.
A tight-lipped company of men.
The cleaning of muskets, the honing of blades.
The clink of bottle on mug.
Meagre belongings willed to a comrade.
A lone officer, walks the lines
Attended only by the wight.
No sleep permitted here.
For slumber multiplies their presence.
Each spirit manifest in the darkness.
An endless procession of the dead and maimed.
Who only truly disappear in the chaos of battle.