Rememberance

 Lest we forget, a brief departure from the worlds of fun and hobbyist pursuits to remember the fallen and the lost.

Footfall

Step lightly mid these resting blades,

Green shoots among the dappled shades.

To earth dyed crimson in the fall

Our most selfless souls gave their all

A barricade to fear to build.

So many, in this way were killed.

Full knowing that their lots were cast,

They fell in waves to bleed their last.

Unstoppable in heart and mind

They braved the trenches lip to find

A land of shells and gas and wire

Churned into liquid, bleeding mire.

Each footfall that you make will sow

Into the poppied ground an echo.

As with sodden thuds and falling fast

A memory of valour from the past

Brave soldiers threw away their lives

In tattered, torn and faceless piles.

To apprehend the twists of fate

Drawing humanity to the gate

Of living hell on earth that day

As neither force could gain headway.

Attrition built on shoulders of the dead

In no-man’s-land they blindly led.

Years of struggle, months of pain

For no apparent, worthwhile gain.

Falling helpless into the maw

Of mans’ most deadly ever war.

The mighty, selfless, helpless dead

Heroes all, for none had fled.

Step lightly now, let sunlight fall

Across the blanket covering all.

For this is more than just a field

Our bravest hands did never yield.

Blood and bone and flesh and sweat

Lie here so we will not forget.

The hills and paths beneath our feet

Are shaped with victory and defeat,

As opposing forces gave their all

In the deadliest war of all.

Now our soldiers’ blood has drained away

They cannot fight another day.

Step lightly, as you heed their cry,

The millions brought here to die.

But we must know they gave their best,

To pit their essence to the test,

To end all wars for years to come

At Flanders Field, at Ypres and Somme.