Poems
Magnanimous
I am so Magnanimous I am such a good person It is surely true That when I die I will go to heaven With Jesus and all the Angels And Betty Grable and, Because I am Such a perfect specimen of humanity That even the dogs and Whores of Babylon love me And because I love...
Remembrance
Seventy years ago today We were mobilized for war As the Germans would no longer delay Their preparations to attack Warsaw. In the war that followed millions died As country after country fell To a man who achieved power because he lied. For the millions who suffered,...
Guide Dog Event
A fifth of a dog was raised today Thank you, thank you we have to say Was it his Nose, his Legs, Tail or Bark? By Residents & Friends at Nettleton park Raffles and stalls or tea and short cakes Or guess the weight from a young man that bakes Painted nails by a young...
Breaking Point
She goes about her daily life Acting ‘normal’ for a while Those round her oblivious of the façade That hides the pain behind her smile No one will ever realise The hurt she feels inside Or how many endless tears She silently has cried The tears are for her soldier...
The Last Letter
I am writing you this letter, the one that I hope you never receive. The one that I didn't want to write, the one I wanted to leave. The last letter is a letter they recommend that you write, it's a letter for you my loved ones, because I never returned on the flight....
Locals from Kabul
We work with locally employed civilians, who have come down to work from Kabul, they are a mixed bunch of characters, and one is as strong as a mule. They service all our vehicles, the one's that go out on the desert tracks, and all they ask for in return, is time off...
Combat Logistic Patrol
You can feel the sweat running down your back, as you do your 5 and 20's along the desert track. The convoy then carries on along the Afghanistan sands; you can count how many times you've been out here, on both hands. Crossing the world's most hostile terrain,...
Stand and Fight
Screaming from beneath the waves, frustrated for our soldiers going to early graves. Twenty two brave men lost their lives within the month of July, yet our blood stained flag still blows in the desert sky. Is it time we were leaving the Afghanistan plains, before...
The Vigil
You're here to say goodbye to a British soldier that has fell, the Padre is reading verses, from the book of heaven and hell. Telling us that they walked in the shadow of the valley of death, their god following in their footsteps, until there last breath. You pray...
Saying goodbye
Remembering our kiss, as I said goodbye to catch the bus, the hugs and the tears, I said try not to fuss. Our last wave, as I turned to go around the bend, I promised to call you, and the letters that I would send. We have said our goodbyes so many times, since the...
Wrapped in the Union Jack
You are returning home from the place that you gave your young life, to the one's that love you, your mother and father, children and wife. Nobody can see you now; you're wrapped in the Union Jack, the flag of your country, our Queen, the uniform on your back. The...
Tolerance
When you cast your mind back And think of times that are gone Did you say something you didn’t mean Does the memory linger on Was it something really serious Were you tired and temper high When you punished perhaps a loved one As they were passing by When their only...
Within a dream…
Two swifts, in May, in their amorous fall Combine as one-love's piercing call. In quiet contemplation of the scene- We walk-as if- within a dream Down this, on other Lakeland ways Whose beauties Wordsworth would've praised. The Derwent flows onward in its quest The...
A Forlorn Call
Whatever happened to the English? To the “mustn’t grumble” generation With their patient, little smiles Forbearing and slightly rueful It used to be a pleasure Walking down the road The morning sun reflected In smiles from people you meet Now everyone is complaining...
Words on a Tombstone in Arnhem
“His life a beautiful memory His death a silent grief.” Walking around a war cemetery one day My eyes caught some words etched on a stone Two lines, that’s all they were: so full of grief! Those words said so much – so beautiful beyond belief A life cut down before...
Beyond all Price
'Pernicious and pugnacious' we may be But there's the other side to see. That readiness to take offence Can often lead to quick redress. That dourness of the aspect, too, Allows the joy of sunlight through. Our pennypinching's-a harmless jest We're just a spendthrift...
There stands a soldier
On parade, ram rod straight, proud moms and dads look on, The last three months have done him good, but soon he will be gone. Off to fight in foreign lands in a war he doesn’t understand, To defend an area he doesn’t know, with rifle gripped in hand. THERE STANDS A...
The Golden Ring {Kath}
A magpie stole a wedding ring, And tucked in underneath its wing. He flew the trinket to his nest Then locked it in his treasure chest. Although, to some, he caused distress, While others thought him quite the pest. The magpie, had a role fulfilled- Though some would...
Within our hearts
One day, I visited two graves nearby, Where heroes of the war would lie.. We offer our thanks to the fallen dead So much blood has now been shed. Within our hearts, there stirs such pride In those, who with great courage died. We honour you for all you gave You've...
‘ Midge ‘ the Goldfish
I envy my pet goldfish He never has to wash He never has to buy a drink And never carries ‘ Dosh ‘ He doesn’t have to shower Or dry his towels outside And even though he’s naked His bits he doesn’t hide On a scale of one to ten He’s quiet a slippery fish And that...
Trust
It is earned And then returned, Not bought, Never forgot. You can lose it, Or can use it. Never spend it. Never bend it. Always say it, Never delay it. Always mean it, And redeem it. You can see and know it’s there, Or can just pull out your hair, Knowing it’ll never...
Who’s on the other line? I don’t know
She picks up the phone And goes to her room, And closes the door, I hear not a sound. Is she cheating? I do not know- But I’m worried that That’s just what she’s doing. An hour’s gone by, She’s not come out. Has she died in there? I think not- the other line still...
Children, Sweets and Suicide Bombers
We had stopped by the roadside Just for a break, get some fresh air It was good to get out of Those mobile coffins, Just to stretch our legs. A bunch of kids, Approached us smiling, Hands out asking for sweets It was good to see smiles, We don’t see. That many. As the...
Milan.
I saw his picture in the paper, Milan, An ordinary looking lad An ordinary looking soldier Wearing his uniform with pride, Smiling, medals on display, Maybe a good guy To have a few beers with, Just one of the lads. Milan was a Para-Military Milan was a killer of...
Never Alone
My Mama told me Don’t be afraid The bogymen are not real And you will never be alone Dearest Mama will always be with you. Years have gone by And Mama is Dead. But sometimes in this place where I now live I see her, in my lucid moments I see her, She tells me, you...
Pandemic
It was the time when Angels and devils fought For the souls of man A time of war and futility For the pandemic was neigh And with its deadly silent arrival Millions upon millions would die As angels and devils fought For the souls of mankind
Dushti Laila
The spirits of the dead Cry out to the living in Dushti Laila Their voices carried across the sands By the nightwinds. Listen So many voices Crying out in the wilderness Justice for the dead of Dushti Laila. As you drive across the desert You can see the bones of the...
Kivu
I am living in hell Not the mythical one But the real one Here on Mother Earth Its called Kivu The suffering is endless The cry of lost souls Shatters the silence of the night The cruelty and killing Goes on day after day No respite for the living or the dead Respect...
Hobson’s Choice
Nothing became them more Than the manner of their death... Their example would inspire us all Men would for love of freedom fall. What courage beat within their breasts What memories we have left. Brothers and sons, loyal husbands, too Who would not love those men we...
Far out places
Far out places!! Aye, been to a few of them I have, Once went as far as Todmorden, It was closed.
Sri.Lanka Blue
She had come down from the hills, Down from Kandy To tell me of her life and times To speak to me of Sri. Lanka Blue Of the never ending war, The killings and rapes Mass graves and tears, of Tigers and Soldiers in the night,of Those taken, never to return. She spoke...
Dancing
Vodka brains Screaming and whirling Bloodlust eyes The madness deep inside No mercy, no regrets No pity either. So much more to do Before the cleansing is done. Then we will be free We will drink to rejoice We will drink to forget. Vodka Brains Madness inside...
Brown paper bag
Sometimes I wear my medals Sometimes folk ask me, What are they for? I tell them, they nod and sometimes Put a little extra in my begging bowl. But I’m ok tonight, Got my whisky in My brown paper bag, Got my brown cardboard box, It’s what I call home And I’ve got...
Our Children
From that moment of conception a couple’s life has changed Never to be the same again - everything must be rearranged. Through the pregnancy, especially when it’s the very first, Every second has a different meaning from that instance of life’s burst. That tiny...
That higher purpose
No nobler cause exists on earth Than doing what's thought good and just. That higher purpose which men serve... That common bond which binds us all Those tears we shed when others fall. Though choirs of death and glory sing- 'Men died for country, queen, or king.' Let...
The Dawn
July twenty seventh two thousand and nine A mammogram check, well worth the time I wait in the car so I don’t have to pay Then Debs made that call on her mobile to say I might have the cancer, (I heard her voice shake) The seconds took minutes, please let me awake? I...
Support your Government Forces
In the Village And in the Villages For hundreds of miles around It was the same From ten to seventy Torn apart inside Gang raped HIV infected now Even the children And the poster shows A smiling soldier gun in hand A defender of the land A child rapist to And the...
Pipes and drums
Ah’v nae played the bagpipes today For my breath is getting week But ah dream of all the days so long ago When we lads all marched along And the pipes were sounding strong But now ah’v nae the strength to blow Tho’ I can still hear the drums and pipes a’playing As...
Thank you ‘ Mums ‘
A big Thank you to you ‘’Forces Mums’’ Who worry at home about their Girls and Sons There comes a time we can’t hold their hand Make a wish or wave a magic wand We have to trust a higher power To be with them in dangers hour Trust their training and their good mates...
One more time
The coffins pass through Wootten Bassett. How often will those words be heard The passing of the fallen dead. As one by one men homeward come The father, brother, precious son. While churchbells for the dead will chime We compose our eulogies and rhymes. Your friends...
The Battle of Britain (And The Blitz)
A swarm of bombers Filled the azure sky. The drone of hundreds Caused the boys and girls to cry. They knew that they would Go through hell And have horrific tales to tell. As the Nazis crossed the English shore They were followed By more and more. The A.A. gunners...
Men of valour
You do all you are charged to do Honour that trust reposed in you. Worthy of every task you're set Whose equal few have ever met. Staunch friends, loyal hearts and true Your country owes a debt to you... Men of valour who earned our praise Who went as heroes to their...
Symphony
What symphony, what grace of form True beauty will too soon be gone... The perfumer's hand would carefully blend The perfect harmony of your scent. With a maestro's skill you were conceived Whose blossom would have Monet pleased. With your air, your presence of...
Bright Ribbons of death: 2
Bright ribbons of death wind you round. Here, they seem to be black: the colours of loss the colours of mourning, the colours of rich earth exposed, brought up from centuries of sleep into shining day at the grave’s long side. Bright Ribbons of death wind you round,...
Lest we forget
Have we forgotten their ultimate sacrifice? Of these men and women who died in their millions? Brave and true, without question, proud to be British, not ashamed to be Christian. So many years have past, it seems our memory doesn't last. Forgetting these courageous...
The ultimate sacrifice
Fear not brave heart as you stand before God There will be no penance to serve You’ve earned the right to rest in peace A right which you truly deserve As the gates of Heaven open wide Hold your head up high and walk through For God has chosen a special place For...
Two hundred times
Two hundred times the muffled drums have rolled, two hundred times the church bells have tolled two hundred times the bugle notes cried two hundred times, two hundred times, two hundred times our comrades have died. The politicians come and we gather round, our...
One more day
Theirs was a thankless, bloody task. One droplet of their precious blood Worth more than arid land or dust. Many were to fight and perish there Their loss a cross too great to bear. They fought a war they thought was just That proved the measure of their worth....
In The Arms Of The Angels
One last salute to a comrade, as he’s finally laid to rest Another name on the wall, to add with all the rest One last journey, a final command ‘Stand Fast’ Cradled in the arms of the Angels, safe at last, safe at last
Mortimer Sackler
Soft pink blooms, as if, for summer dressed. Slight hint of fruit upon the breath. How beauty seems to Nature wed... To breath the lightly-scented air God's presence seeming everywhere. Though unpretentious in your ways You flower from crowning arch to base. As if, it...
With pride we call you heroes
Welcome home, soldiers brave A fantastic job you’ve done You’re safe at last, you’ve made it home Lay down your helmet, armour and gun You’ve worked so hard whilst on your tour You can now put all that behind It’s your time now, so take the chance To relax and just...
You can’t beat a good bit of bulling
Sick and fed up of getting beasted? Coz your boots are tired and dull Well all it takes is patience and time And a lesson on how to bull Find yourself a good comfy chair You’re going to be sat for a while Bulling your boots aint a two minute job Its hard work; but...
‘Contact, wait out !’
‘ Big bird, big bird, hot zone ‘ I scream into the mike Can’t let the chopper land here And let the enemy strike Not fair to put their lives at risk It’s bad enough our own Fifteen British soldiers Ambushed and alone ‘ Helmand Province ‘ we were told Was quiet this...
Always the Last to Know.
Here I am, a soldier’s mum On the outside looking in Worried, lost, totally confused Not knowing where I fit in Not being a wife or girlfriend I’m always the last to know What my soldier is doing Or where he needs to go He hardly ever speaks these days Well not to me...
EVELYN
Large pink and apricot flowers. Glorious rosettes of colour With a nose of ripe peaches and apricots. The rose possesses magic power Casts its spell upon the hour... In the warm Mediterranean you belong Where clouds of myth and legend form. Whose presence soothes the...
’Will the market be gone’’?
’Will the market be gone’’? Under the town hall clock people meet Through the crowds and milling feet In all weathers, through the rain and the shine Don’t remember when it showed the right time High above the market so tall Sticking out from that yonder wall Its...
The Soldier Poets.
Where ever there is a war, A poet will surely be there, With a rifle in his hands, And bullets snapping through his hair. Like all of his brothers, He will stand and fight, Till his very last breath, Under the suns blistering light. His every feeling and thought, Will...
Night Patrol.
Night Patrol once again In this Foreign War Thoughts are ever in our heads What are we fighting for We came to these far off shores To eliminate Tyrants and their rule And create freedom of choice to the population But we are now held to ridicule As many think our...
Louise Odier
Robustly perfumed Wild raspberries, deep Damask rose. Pink, soft shades of lilac Full cupped flowers shed their tears Amid the early-summer showers. You look most beautiful on your own 'La Riene des toutes les roses...' When she scatters your petals on the ground The...
Blithe Spirit
Light musk rose perfume with a hint of myrrh Soft, pale yellow flowers golden cups replete with morning sunlight Uncommon in form Through the summer your splendour grows Blithe of spirit forever pleasing to the eye Whose beauty few would dare deny You faded -as every...
Hand of hope
If you are burdened by the load you are carrying on your shoulders With the weight of your own problems and the worries of others Throw them back, stand tall and let the burden slip to the floor. If your feet are as heavy as lead and your footsteps laboured With every...
Chorus of Dawn
Though morning comes with sorrows The heart finds hard to bear Grey clouds may clear tomorrow To free us from despair. Yesterday's, another country And the borders are now closed And what the future brings us No-one, truly, knows. Tears were shed when we were born We...
Ronnie
A Blyton Lad When at school Very deaf but no ones fool Playing cricket whilst still young People feared the balls he’d flung Also in the football game His success was local fame Then he met an awesome beauty To groom and show, became his duty County shows far and wide...
Poppy’s
Poppy's are to remember, Poppy's are for love, Poppy's are lovely but when I think about the battlefields, oooh, that was horrid. I have thoughts that are lovely, I have thoughts that are sad. But when the guns stopped, people danced and danced.
Looking back
As you lay in repose upon your bed And gently close your eyes How many thoughts are going through your head What do you visualize Are you thinking back to the early days Perhaps a hint of your first romance When you made quick decisions Not worried about taking a...
Highland home
Ahm nae the man ah used to be And I cannae walk this way again To see the wee Scots Lassie Who helped to ease ma pain For I fought ma fight when the Pipes they blew The sounds o the bonnie Heelands That’s what helped me through The battle fields and horrors of war The...
Every day I wear a mask
Everyday I wear a mask I smile and say good morning to all I see I am pleasant and always look happy Everyone acknowledges my presence when I walk into a room I am a bright light shining in all this gloom But when I am alone All alone in the dark That is when my...
Their snouts in the trough
They grunt and they groan All through the land you can hear them moan Bring me more for the trough What we have is never enough They wear their designer suits Hand made shirts with silken ties You can look into their eyes They are very good at hiding their lies They...
“Parcere Subjectis”
Ranks of granite, Stand ranked like Grenadiers, lost in the frigid mists of time. Beneath these empty, silen t stones, unmarked graves, unclaimed bones, no names engraved, no legends, no words of solace nor holy comfort, nothing to tell those who will come, what...
Ode to the Poppy
From disturbed earth you rise like a phoenix, Your skirts of fire and black, black heart. Disturbs our lives, a short interval, to stop; And gaze on your simple beauty. At the end of the year, with the days grown cold; Your short life in fields of gold, long gone. We...
At the setting of the Sun
“At the setting of the Sun” Beneath the glistening, Ink black night, ill-lit by faded stars, in the shadow of the sickle Moon the desert stretches unto heaven. A tattered remnant flutters, stirred by ghostly hands, the faded red, white and blue stained with soot and...
When men dream
Casting the mel, positions set Strong hands have woven every net. Shouldering his haaf, Highland Laddie's won. 'That curved lip of sand's the spot to be Just watch them ride the tide to me.' Up to their chest black water comes Though not one man his back has turned....
The Nijmegen Death March
We are going down town, And over the seven hills, The long way round, With a body full of pills. All of my blisters have burst, The feelings drained from my limbs, This really is the worst, So where is my promised Pims? With the screaming of the crowd, And the...
Swine Flu
Oink oink pink pig I think you’ve given me the flu I’m full of aches and pains Coughs and sneezes too Bugs are flying everywhere When people round me sneeze Have they not read the posters? ‘Catch it, bin it, kill it’ please The doctor will not see me He’s diagnosed me...
Redoute’
(Jean) Sport of the Mary Rose Honey and almonds on your breath. Soft pink of shade Flowering in profusion An artist's canvass you would grace. Though Henry wore a golden crown Your beauty was in Nature found. Vainglorious in death in a tomb he lies Within the heart...
Shot At Dawn
(Fusilier Joseph Byers 15576) The Western Front that Hell On Earth Was where a man could prove his worth. When friends around you cruelly died You soldiered on with fear and pride. The noise, the pain, the doubts would come And from the Jaw's of Death you'd turn. Your...
Peacekeepers
From the day we landed on Foreign soil We knew not what to expect Nor the reason for our presence there But now in retrospect Would it really have made any difference As a Military Force we have a role to fulfil To put into practice the skills that we’ve learnt Hoping...
Time
Time changes things, or so it’s said, Time brings memories back in my head. Time can smudge some faces, but some stay clear, Those are lost friends, I always wanted near. Time heals wounds, or so it’s said, Time fades body scars, but in my head? Time has many jobs,...
Brothers Forever
Star lights, shining bright Watching over our soldiers who fight Keeping them safe as darkness falls Giving them strength when morning calls Providing them with intuition An unexplainable inner vision Being their eyes and ears when needed Making sure they’re not...
Final Journey
The darkness had awoken When the light had left your eyes. Though your body may be broken; Your spirit never dies. We will not you abandon… You will not be alone. To the embrace of your loved ones… We will take you home. Come child of our nation’s best, Under our...
The Love of Freedom…
Eight men in arms, Eight friends in death All, for the love of freedom, bled. Hands reached to touch each passing hearse Your names on every lip and breath. The women, and the men, wept too There was such pain in losing you. Heroic -in its truest sense Your blood was...
Within My Blood…
A cruel combination of circumstance Once drew me from my native land. I've often dreamt of misty glens Of winter nights with kin and friends. And, though, I never would return My thoughts would with the wild stag run. The watching by the salmon leap The lochins where...
Who am I
Who am I, Who am I, I am the dust of the glorious dead that will not settle, I am a triumphal echo born of Crecy, Poitiers and Agincourt Where my enemies knew too well my mettle, I am the pull on the yew bending longbow The victory roll on Drake’s defiant drum, The...
“Convoy”
We steam for safety, grey walls of water crash across the bows. Two hundred souls, crammed inside a metal skin, living in one another’s stink. Puking, mewling, like infants in need of milk, we stagger along storm-battered decks, iron corrodes under foot. Ripped and...
“December III”
In dreams when things seem better, when wrong turns are never taken, when happiness lasts and scans always pulse, that’s where we’ll find you. The daily grind seems worse without you here, there’s not a day that doesn’t pass when we don’t think of you, when we don’t...
Pax Vobiscum
Lord grant that men may live in peace To honour all in word and deed. And may we ever bear with grace The follies of the human race.
Weetabix
I really love my Weetabix I don't know what I'd do If suddenly they stopped making them With nothing left to chew My Mother used to give me them For Breakfast every Day " They'll make you go quite regular " To where she wouldn't say They look like compressed cardboard...
Rowbank Wood
Walking down the Dandy Line The wood was drawing close There was no shadow where I stood There walked a soldier's ghost. I often played here as a child My spirit wild and free And, now, my eyes no longer see Are closed where life should be... How strangely silent sits...
All Gave Some, But Some Gave All
Sitting, staring blankly out at this land, Beyond the corpses and blood-stained land, A thousand miles of such terrible memories, Carrying their visions on the sandy breeze, Lost in sanity of mind to those who fall, All gave some, but some gave all, I cannot go on...
The Panther’s Claw
Heart-rending news from Helmand comes The sacrifice of yet more sons. The Panther's Claw is poised to strike More British boys will die tonight. Where The Taliban command the land The blood of heroes stains the sand. Towards the enemy brave soldiers go The roll call...
” Retreat “
We painted the lines with fetlock and musket, and rambled in time with the guidon and chestnut. We festooned this day, our best in a simple melancholy mess and danced the grand retreat for the friends, whose duty put to sleep. Old Glory proceeds with such reverent...
The River
You lazily wander, through pastures Green, Curling your way as you flow to the sea. Sand Martins, Kingfishers, live in your banks. Tail swishing cattle, stand cooling their flanks. The sunshine reflecting the Golden Gorse, In shallows you gurgle your baby talk. Why do...
A Tanka, for a Comrade
You left me to die, Alone, in the dark that night. I called your name, Heard the sound of gun fire. Then saw you dead by my side.
Of Vermin and Villeins
It was a scene from any period of English rural history. A sheer limestone cliff rose up close behind me, To my left and right, mature deciduous trees Clustered in their copses And to my front, the gentle river was bordered by grass - Kept short by currently absent...
Thoughts of love…
When told you never would return The house became so cold That youthful spirit full of fun Who never would grow old. You were not perfect, we often fought You always held your own How proud I was you were my son What courage you have shown. They stole my life, that...
Service Love
As I sit in a Bar with only female company I wonder if the world has passed me by For I never seem to meet my Mr Right No matter how hard I try So I raise my head and cast my eyes across the room To see if the situation may change tonight And there are a group of...
Help Me Make It Through The Night
As I lay awake in bed I squeeze my pillow tight Through my tears I say out loud Help me make it through the night It’s been so long since I have slept Every night I toss and turn Whilst my baby’s far away The pain inside me burns Through the day I face the world With...
Kiss Me… Then Walk Away
Kiss me my love; then walk away Please, do not say goodbye Just turn away, don’t look back For you may see me cry I don’t want you to see The tears on my face As I watch you leave For a far off place Cherish this moment Keep it locked in your heart Let it give you...
The Car Boot Sale
My wife’s brainwave the other day; for clearing out our trash Was to sell it a boot sale, and make some extra cash The idea I thought was very good; we’d tidy up the place Get rid of all that useless junk, and gain some extra space So we sorted out some bits and bobs,...
Simple Things
Free trip to Town upon the bus No big Queue no need to fuss A Sunday paper with free map A comfortable chair to take a nap An hour or two with a good book A take away no need to cook A well hit golf ball rarely seen Landing on a well cut green A loving wife to hold...
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