I wrote this for those we wish to remember…

 

He wanted to serve his country

And do his duty as a man

He signed up for the Army

Just as soon as the war began

He just had his nineteenth birthday

And was at the start of his adult life

He had found the perfect woman

That was going to be his wife

She asked him not to leave her

And cried so many tears

He tried to reassure her

To cast aside her fears

The day for him to leave came

She waved as he boarded the train

Little did she know then

She would never see him again

He met with fellow soldiers

Who seemed like decent blokes

They passed the journey laughing

And telling dirty jokes.

The smiles soon left their faces

When they were marched across the mud

And taken to huge trenches

That stank of rotting flesh and blood.

These would be his home now

Along with many other men

He would know no creature comforts

Nor would he see home again

The weather was appalling

His clothes were sopping wet

The food supplies were dwindling

Sometimes stale bread was all he ate.

There were rats all running rampant

He picked lice out of his hair

The constant sound of gunfire

Was almost more than he could bear

Death was all around him

So many friends were shot

His body was wracked with sores now

And his foot had begun to rot.

He had wanted to make a difference

And fight for what he believed

But this never-ending battle

Was worse than he conceived

It was his turn to be lookout

As so many had before

He was weary and dejected

From this bloody, grisly war

He thought about his fiancée

The girl he’d left at home

Tears threatened to engulf him

He felt so desperate and alone

He didn’t feel the bullet

As it pierced right through his brain

His body still and lifeless

His blood, crimson in the rain

*****

I honour all those soldiers

Who lost their lives and died

We indeed will remember them

As we wear our poppies with pride

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