It's Remembrance Sunday here in the UK and round the Commonwealth. Sylvia Daly has kindly allowed us to share this thoughtful poem from her new anthology Before I Go...
THE WAR MEMORIAL
It says “For the Fallen” –
as if they had stumbled
in their haste to reach the enemy.
How silly they were
to have lost their balance -
no mention here of chaos,
gore, carnage, slaughter.
It says “For the Fallen” –
as if they had stumbled
in their haste to reach the enemy.
How silly they were
to have lost their balance -
no mention here of chaos,
gore, carnage, slaughter.
It says “They Gave Their Lives” –
wrapped in cheap khaki, this
precious gift prepared by
grieving mothers.
Grand theft from
a generation that would
never recover from such generosity.
“Age Shall Not Wither Them” –
Their figures should be used
to scream
“We were abused!
Never do this again.”
Their dying cry,
breathing peace with their last sigh.
