At the War Memorial

[Lincolnshirelass]

(I laid the Remembrance Day wreath for the organisation I work for, and though I hesitate to write about something that has been written about already so brilliantly and movingly, here are my own humble efforts)

And so, a bleak, grey-streaked November day
we gather here, say prayers, stand silent, and sing hymns,
and in our turn, bright paper poppies lay,
and even in the morning, daylight dims,
silence, perhaps is best, for what is there to say
about the loss of lives, and minds, and limbs,
whilst sad old men who once were strong
blink tears for the forever young.

We all commit ourselves, in that last prayer,
to peace and unity, to future dawn
where war no longer wreaks its bright despair
and lives and limbs and minds will not be torn,
but, can we believe it? Can we dare?
Even as we pray new conflicts will be born .....
the piled-up paper poppies here
will bloom again, year after year.

[DATo]

whilst sad old men who once were strong
blink tears for the forever young.

the piled-up paper poppies here
will bloom again, year after year.



I LOVE those lines! Excellent!