When the world plumped for conflict, When the young marched and fell, When the ones with the purse strings Bought them tickets to hell, When the mothers fell earthwards, When the soldiers fell down, When the politicians orated In the name of the crown, When the air stank of cordite, When their boots filled with mud, When the howitzers whistled When our men gave their blood, When the telegrams arrived When the boy knocked the door, When he gave confirmation, Their first born was no more, When Merchant Seaman braved oceans When they sustained the troops, When the state stole their pensions When we forced them through hoops, When the heroes marched homeward When they finally won, When no one remembered Quite why it begun When we grew up round shellshock When Grandad couldn’t sleep, When family know the scars On his back were not cheap, When we read of our history When we’re students of the past, When we play in the shade Of the shadows long cast, When today’s troops bear trauma When our heroes can’t walk, When the veterans go homeless When they can’t hear, smell or talk, When we’re learning the lesson When we walk our own way We can start to give back What they gave for today…
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Most kind of you to say 😊
A quiet power to this poem.
A great poem, nice tribute, well written.