Sorry for inflicting another poem on you all, but with Remembrance Weekend upon us, I thought I'd share a poem that I wrote to commemorate the start of World War One, which is, I believe, appropriate for Remembrance:
GOOD MEN OFF TO WAR
"Are you going dad?" asked Lucy.
"In a bit love" dad replies.
With kitbag filled with all he requires,
Dad smiles but silently cries.
"Are you ready love?" asked Flora.
"Not quite, but soon" says Stan.
With all his worldly possessions at side
He is a terrified young man.
"Is it time yet?" asked Violet.
"A few minutes left" answers Dick.
With his memories of the ones he loves,
He is desperate and worried sick.
How long before the battle cries
Wake them in their sleep?
How long before they shiver with cold
In the trenches vast and deep?
How long before the sound of guns
Penetrates their brain?
How long before their dead friends'
Spirits drive them all insane?
These few good men that are off to war
Are just somebody's son.
Or dad or husband or brother dear
A loved one for someone.
Some of them will one day return
But most of them will die
And when back home the women hear,
They will learn to say goodbye.
They will hold them forever in their hearts
And think of them everyday
For the special men who fought so brave
Some poppies we will lay.
"I've died" dad tells Lucy,
"I'm in heaven love" says Stan.
"I'm coming home" Dick replies,
The returning hero, man.