He stood amongst the soldiers on parade
At ease and proud and battle-hardened
A man whose life had just begun and
Remembered, a boy, playing in a garden.

Toy soldiers lined up on the grass
And sat in jeeps and dug out holes
Paras rappelled from washing lines
Marines abseiled down staking poles

Broken toys were not discarded
They were the casualties of war
The boy became a man so soon
Childhood games were games no more

The transformation was completed
Straight from training he deployed
To fight a war on foreign soil
Three thousand miles into the void

Returned the same but not the same
The sum of parts makes up the whole
His valiant company arranged around him
The sum of their hearts makes up its soul.