Lest We Forget - Poem
After watching a movie called "My Boy Jack" and more recently the movie "Glory", both of which centered around war times, I felt compelled to write a poem dedicated to those who fought for our land, our lives, and our freedom. This weekend the right words came for the first verse, and I finished it.
Note: It's a little bit graphic because it is depicting war times, so if war scenes disturb you, you may not want to read this one, or skip to the last 3 verses.
~*~*~*~
Lest We Forget
By BushMaid
~*~*~*~
Soldier boy with weapon ready,
Heading out to war.
Grim set face with hands unsteady,
The battle crying “More!”
His comrades waiting by his side,
Their force a hundred strong.
All hoping that the fear they hide
Won’t cause them to go wrong.
A trumpet blast then splits the air,
It’s time to march ahead.
Their marching boots stride on to where
Their hearts hold the most dread.
Their faces, all so very young,
So many only boys;
From their safe homes they have been wrung
To handle bigger toys.
One hundred soldiers stepping out
With courage in their eyes.
No looking back, no turn about,
But on to where death lies.
Cresting the hill, horrors behold –
A scene of blood and pain.
The men who once were brave and bold
Will never rise again.
The sound of chaos fills the sky,
With gunsmoke, shots, and screams.
Their young lives bleeding where they lie;
Scene of nightmarish dreams.
All charging forward with a roar,
Guns blazing as they go:
Their comrades falling by the score –
Goodbye Harry, goodbye Joe.
Stabbing and rending flesh.
The flowing blood forming a maze,
Bodies become a mesh.
The roar soon dies, the gunshots cease,
The battle at an end.
The wounded's cries belay the peace:
Can’t tell a foe from friend.
The blood of thousands stain the ground,
The dead and dying still.
The hopes they had of being found,
These hopes had come to nil.
So very much these young lives gave,
So very much at stake.
Fighting evil until the grave
Reached out to their lives take.
For freedom’s cause these brave men fought;
Freedom for you and me.
Giving neither caution nor thought
To death they knew they’d see.
Be grateful for on which you stand:
Freedom remaining yet.
Recall the men who saved our land –
Recall – Lest We Forget.
~
That is an awesome poem! :D
ReplyDeleteWhen I saw the title I thought the poem would be about the Holocaust because of a really good movie I've seen with the same title as your poem. This peom's message is just as good as the movie's message.
Thankyou very much, Sui. :D I'm very glad you enjoyed it.
ReplyDeleteI couldn't think of a better title that would fit it. "Lest We Forget" is a well known phrase referring to the ANZAC's in Australia, but I couldn't think of anything better that would suit, so I stuck with it. :)
Loved. It. Very. Much.
ReplyDeletehttp://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vIzTKf3wYw4&feature
Thankyou, Gabriel! I'm very glad you liked it. That songs suits it very well. Thankyou so much for commenting! :)
ReplyDeleteWonderful poem!! I'm going to get a couple of books honoring men, and a few have to do with soldiers; I'm going to save this poem to read in conjuncion with those books :)
ReplyDeleteJennifer
Wow, thankyou Jennifer! I'm very glad you liked it. :)
ReplyDelete