Poems
Trenches
The endless line of trenches that stitched the war torn land, Were fought for, won, and lost again in fighting hand to hand, The strands of cruel barbed wire that clutched, and held, and tore, Were cursed at by both friend and foe, caught up in mindless war. For four...
In Virum Perfectum
There is a great king on a hill, I left his halls naught half a century and one past, And I ride the fate of time still, Thinking that he will forever last. After a long battle with the beast, I had to rest, And the kind king bade me a bed to stay, And as I wondered...
Dream’s of Tomorrow
Speak not to me of heroes nor deeds of daring do, for every tale that you unfold brings tears of sorrow too, the mother and the widow that are left to grieve alone, have little time for medals and flesh as cold as stone. The warmth of their loved ones the bugles...
Barney McKaig’s Sixteenth Birthday
The dreary farm is lost in clouds of dust And makeshift uniform, chafing thighs With cheeks aflame, you’ve posed for tintype And heard impassioned speeches, rousing words You traded weary work-a-day for this: For cheek-by-jowl with shopkeeper And German tailor’s son,...
A Fair wind is Blowing
Think back to those days not long ago When happiness prevailed And you rode on the wave of Life’s ocean On the ship of Love you sailed The sky above was cloudless The water a sparkling blue And then the world was your oyster Out there and waiting for you But the path...
Into the Jaws of Death
“Some one had blunder’d” Tennyson: “The Charge of the Light Brigade” Parade of faces, broadsheet wise, all spent: Gibraltar Forward Operations Base, Afghanistan, 2 Para, last week’s news. As liable to be killed or maimed as in the First World War, you chase the...
A Shilling Earned
Creased and faded photographs, chronicles of the past, Half forgotten faces, friendships built to last, The faces smiling back at me with laughter in their eyes, Were bonded by the regiment, the strongest of all ties. Treading in the footsteps of bygone men at arms,...
The Sentinel
High upon the hillside the Roman sentry stands, Guarding Caesar's campsite from roaming Celtic bands, He pulls his cloak around him to block the driving rain, And stares toward the monoliths scattered on the plain. He ponders who would put them there, such great...
Comrades in Arms
Amid the roar of cannon and choking cordite fumes, Came the squadron of Lancers beneath a sea of dancing plumes, Their chain mail reflecting the early morning light, As with lance tip pennants streaming, they headed for the fight. The enemy guns were sited for maximum...
Soothing delights
Peace is where we experience love-delights Harmony is where the glitter of love reflects, Dousing the volatile and vengeful thoughts Unite, let us unite to tune ever-new delights. In the beautiful horizon of human thoughts If the pigeons of peace fly without fright,...
Implanting peace
The pangs of inevitable alienation The agony of inescapable situation Reflects the plight of human desperation In the present wave of war-frictions. In a bid to stem the tide of aggression And to wipe-off the stains of emotion, The peace-shattered, peace-loving human...
The Colour
Banners of past glories now hang in remnant form, falling prey to natures force, that weathered battles storm, rich gold and silver embroideries now tarnished, torn and black, once led the cheering regiment, blindly into attack. The heart of the regiment protected by...
Behind the razor wire
A dark and quite moment When the working day is through I sit behind the razor wire My thoughts drift to you I’m a fit and able soldier In a war that should not be Whilst brother you fight a different war And it lays siege upon your knees When I here the sirens...
My space
In the comfort of my own space, I have no hatred for religion or race The lights are out as I lay in darkness, I am starved and I am hopeless I am neither hot nor cold, the memories of my loved ones I still hold In the silence I have no fear, no happy thought or...
Terminus Est.
My mind is dry and my words are gone, Never again to play that beautiful song, I feel sometimes hollow and numb, And the old stuff is no longer fun. I have travelled to places so far away, The places whose description you can’t say, The desert stretches off to a...
The Iraq Dodgers (Sing to Lily Marlene)
We’re the Iraq Dodgers Out in Afghani, Always on the Vino Always on a spree, Is that what you all do think of us? A holiday, without a fuss, Cos we’re the Iraq Dodgers out in Afghani. Mr Blair you sent our boys Out on combat tour, Half the boys you sent, Don’t know...
Diogonese
Diogonese always worked, A Soldier, a Sailor, an Airman, For Queen and Country. One day tossed aside, A wound, Mental? Physical? Pensioned off, sacked. Down scaling. He knows no other life, Guided, pushed and driven. Only now, loneliness darkens, around him. The...
Marching song
Soldiers that march want their voice to be heard singing those songs where they know all the words, their mindless defiance hurled up to the sky, stops thoughts of the carnage, the bodies that lie heaped up in the towns and the villages passed on their battle-strewn...
The Wardrobe
Here, piled carelessly in wooden, shadowed corners, I found the skins you shed – thick velvet, sliding silk, embroidered threads on twisted taffeta, fine cotton burnished to transparency – old garments, redolent with perfume, smoke and sweat, worn in lighter times...
A coat of blue……….
Make me a coat of blue, little Lisbeth, so I can away to the war – But if I do, I’ll not see you for many days, many years, more. Show me your wool, little Lisbeth, is it soft and warm as your hand? My wool is the finest you’ll find in Frome, but you want to follow...
Hope and Faith in times of need
The path of life is a winding trail Help always seems out of sight Especially when you are alone with your thoughts In the early morning or late at night You try to find the answer To the many problems on hand But someone , somewhere holds the key And tries to...
Aten
The pair scoured the land for prey. Mouths wide open, Dragon’s teeth revealed. Spotted. There. Moving Slowly Across the landscape. A glance exchanged, the plan was pre formed. One plunged Earthward from the Heavens, Diving towards its quarry, Spitting fire and wrath...
I can always stop a bullet
I can always stop a bullet That is meant for someone else That’s what I told the Sergeant At the recruiting office You’re too old said he Go home, old man, Sit by your fire And think of us No I said I can always stop a bullet That is meant for someone else I mean to...
Anthems
In the Press today I was reading how, To the USA we seem to ‘Cow Tow’. Our Nation the World, they used to call ‘Great’, Has now become the ‘51st State’. A Nuclear Deterrent we cannot use, Unless we ask Bush, to light the fuse. Eurofighter on sale, We’ll sell to the...
Questions
Monday 7am Mr Humphries radiates from the Roberts. A man dies. No ordinary man, Purportedly he was fighting for his country. But what was the country fighting for? Helmand? Where? Khyber Pass? Why, we should ask ourselves? Who is next? Your Son? And for what?
Headlines No Longer
“I made the Papers today, Page six, last column, Right hand page. That’s me there, yes, Twenty three, young wife, Two beautiful daughters. I know its only eight lines, But what do you expect? I’m not that famous. Just a young man, A Father, a Son, a Soldier, Killed...
Lacking
The attack went in, Taliban Stronghold. Tracer flew, Like swarms of fire trailing Hornets, Buzzing, Zipping, Stinging. “Re- group”, a withdrawal called. Head Count. One Missing. “Who saw him last?” A decision, Made from camaraderie, not monetary gain. Brave men,...
‘Of Course’
Are the Military under strength? ‘Of Course’ Are the Military under equipped? ‘Of Course’ Are the Military fighting wars for no reason? ‘Of Course’ Are you blinkered? ‘Of Course’ Eyes closed? ‘Of Course’ Being subdued? In your place? ‘Of Course’ “Of Course, Of Course...
Phonetic Remembrance
A is for Alpha as in Alfa Romeo B is for Bravo as in Two Zero C is for Charlie as in Charlie Drake D is for Delta as in Triangle Shape E is for Echo as in large shouting cliffs F is for Foxtrot as in Dancing and Twists G is for Golf as in Game, small white ball H is...
Recruitment
In a time of war, as we are starting to know, We see more adverts that appear on show, To call up brave men and send them away, A hope they come back, not be buried where they stay. But in the present day, in wars not of our choosing, The Recruiters are really...
Traumatic Times
Traumatic Times, require Drastic Measures. When more Traumatic than now, ‘Tommy’ Soldier? How many tours do you carry out? Not those around Curium, Any more. Just Operational Tours these days And you know what they say, About ‘All Work’? ‘Tommy’, if not dead, becomes...
V.C.
The powder hissed, the stench of cordite, The steel projectile hurled at Man and Rider. One of the ‘Brave Six Hundred’ fell. Guns fell silent. Melted down, formed into crosses That Heroes wear on their chests. Bronze cannons are rare today. Not much left now, Heroes...
When l am asleep
When l am asleep I can be anyone l want to be I can do anything l want to do I can soar through the air The wind whistling through my hair When l am asleep All my problems disappear They are never close or very near I don’t have the constant dread Or the sad thoughts...
Cutting the Apron Strings
I’ve gone and cut the apron strings It’s time to let my babies fly They’re all grown up, have lives to live So why does this make me cry? Why does my heart hurt so much? Now the apron strings have been cut So many questions now run through my mind So many what ifs,...
Reality TV
“They’re showing a war on the telly. Let’s all have a drink while we watch. Just look at the cold, hungry children. Make mine an ice-cold double Scotch. The soldiers are shooting the farmers. I’ll bring in some biscuits and cheese. They sleep in the snow now they’re...
New Shoots
How impolite to start a war When we’re expecting Spring. She’ll come with flowers in her arms But what will conflict bring? Arms of a very different kind And shoots of smoke and metal, Spring will recoil, flowers shot with red Destroying every petal.
Wartime Eyes
Drown horrors of the wars in children’s eyes, Whose dark, deep pools drink every evil down And wash away the sighs. Their gaze, perplexed, unwilling to avert Draws in the maimed, bereft, abandoned, stunned And bathes away the hurt. They cannot close or rest in case...
Devils Clutch
Feels so right to do, but it's an evil treat I get so hungry, yet I cannot eat My happiness fades, my world goes black Even if i run forever, i cannot go back The devil has me locked and will eat me whole I'm lifeless and pathetic, i've sold my soul I can't get out,...
The wrong choice
I was just sixteen Just starting on my own Daddy and I had nowhere to call home I think about you ever day No matter if anythings said Because memories of you blow through my head Knowing i made the mistake of taking your life Me and Daddy will be with you soon But in...
May of 03
When i think of my grandmother I think of wheelchairs and yarn And i think of how far she could have gone If she hadnt lost her mind Because she fell down and hit her head All her hopes and dreams are now dead She cant even remember the name of her favorite song Which...
Abstract
Illusion takes over reality And were thrown in with it Taking our lives and hopes and dreams As sublime as everything dissapears Wanting to be here instead of there Hunger that goes into the walls You'll never find the light, it doesnt flicker You forgot the...
Cool Poem
Behind these bars that were created By the words i could not speak Through the walls of truth that falsehood cracked My words havent been spoken, therefore cannot leak Chained to this frame, by guilt i wont express Blinded by the dark I am captured In the cold hands...
Off to War
My son’s goin To a war zone And nothing can make Me feel better. I thought in my way I was doin ok Till the Army They sent me a letter. Don’t worry it said We know what to do when he’s dead We’ll be there for him When it matters. He won’t be buried alone For we’ll fly...
Safe
John,hero,sar'nt major, In Afghanistan, Soldier,son and husband, Anna's man. Leader of his units, Protector of his men, Whose sudden grins and twinkling eyes Ease tensions and keep spirits high. Come back safe from wounds and scars, Safe from waking,dreaming wars....
Return to Flanders fields
And while the landscape has changed and planes now fly overhead We will not forget the sacrifice you made, Soldiers: Forever young, forever brave Silenced by death. Who laid down their lives in Flanders Fields Countless raindrops have fallen since then, But it has not...
Lonely War
So gritty, blood red sweet and pretty, Guns and crime in the one big city. Night comes calling, darkness prevails, and daylight is over The night spreads her sails, cloaking all with her dark crested veil, The gunner falls as the bullets sail. Collision of impact in...
I can feel your energy
I can feel your energy drive through me In the midst of the wind and rain I know you are present And never far by my side With every little faith I hold so dear I know your there driving me Through the tears that I shed You replace it with the sun gleaming Allow me to...
Remembrance
The old soldier pauses on his Sunday stroll, looks at the wreath of decaying red carnations tied to a lamppost. Reads the rain-stained message: “To my best mate – RIP – I’ll miss you forever.” His fingers touch the ragged England flag then the poppy at his lapel. He...
Born To Serve
Plans laid down in 42 I was born in 43 This Island Nation here to protect My Nation, the world to me With crew abound, The Captain too, I eased away from shore It was a time of conflict Or to you and me its war. The days they passed The guns rang out, a battle then...
06/06/1944
A prayer to the Goddess Juno, With her Gold and magical Sword. A hope to smite the enemy, In an Operation called Overlord. Our Country Cousins were close by, From Omaha and Utah. We’ll meet them for a welcome break, Then Berlin, foot to the floor. But as we found out,...
The Bridge
Interned until the end of the war, The Rest Of the World, they never saw. The treatment of prisoners, from Commonwealth Nations, When building a railway. Japanese stations. Through jungle so dense, you could hardly see, The prisoners hacked to carve an alley. Then the...
You Choose
The poppies fell from the ceiling, Like a flood of blood red tears, The roof cried the life, Of the countless dead, Like it has for near hundred years. When we wear our poppy, Whether it Red, or White or Pink, We must stand alone, And take a reflection, It means take...
Poppy
Once a year a time comes round, To remember those who have died, In time of conflict throughout the ages, But sometimes the poppy we chide. The colour we wear is predominantly red, The Legion is not going to yield, In remembrance of men, both the young and the old,...
Each year
Each year the numbers don’t decrease You would expect that they would As age the old ones get release And the peace that they always should The faces always younger get Yet fifty thousand out today Each one with all the others met Intent one thing, their tributes pay...
My Footprints
I marched through miles of desert sands then looked behind to see... My footprints as they disappeared And they belonged to me Your teachings say you carried me So why do my legs ache did you also bear the burden of the pursuers in my wake When rifle rounds and...
In the Lion’s Den: The Troopers’ Psalm
Who walks freely for my sake among tawny lions, I will remember him. I will hold her in my heart. Let the sand welcome his footsteps. Let the desert learn her strength. I will remember them. For these do I offer up my voice unto Heaven. Urrah! Lo, there shall the...
The Emperor
It was the height of Empire This Country called, for men to fight a war. The War was fought, Many miles from Home, against an enemy they hardly saw. The Afghan Wars, Were bloody and brutal, lasted for many long years. With countless men dead Leaving families at home,...
In Memoriam
The clock struck 11.00. A gun sounds, Not in anger, but the start Of a minute of contemplation. Trooper Jones was not there, In body anyway. But in the mind of a two year old, He lived on. The little girl never knew Basra. “Saddam who?” she asked. “Sod em all,” her...
War Wounds
A steel hook, An ally limb. What will people, Think of him. Back at home I cannot see. Both my eyes Deserted me. Look again I cannot hear. I only have My right ear. In my dreams I wonder why It was my time Not to die For my country Now I’m half a man But some folk...
Remember the banks
Jack lost his mind near Mandalay, Though he was young and tough. Fighting Japs was hell on earth. Jungle warfare just too rough. Came home to white coats, padded cells. His mind was just too funny. And did the country cure poor Jack? No. The Government had no money....
Dear Mr. Read
I'm sorry, I didn't mean to see. I should explain - we haven't met, I've only seen you once as yet. I went upstairs just after tea and saw you then. Did you see me? Is that the best suit you could get? It must feel good, I bet, to be free. Last year in the Mall we...
THE 11TH HOUR
I was shopping in Sainsburys on Sunday when the two minutes silence began, To remember the dead of a century’s wars, that unique invention of man. I covertly looked around me at the shoppers all silent and still And the checkout assistant, with head bowed, in front of...
PTSD
On the outside he looks normal But on the inside he is screaming From the never ending torment Which send his emotions reeling First a smell, and then a taste The nightmare has begun He hopes and prays that it will pass He has no where to run A sudden noise transports...
Grape shot
They have dramatised Ann Frank’s Diary, so I’m bound to think claustrophobia when I gaze through a clear bag to green grapes; heads of pulp, cheek to cheek on the way to… Crowds – where do they go home to ? Where did those grapes swell in the sun? What was in the soil...
The Same Forever
The seasons come and go But I stay the same Defiant as ever! Never will I abandon My sealed principles and my passionate beliefs Standing solid as a rock in a watery world.
Many Days To Come
There is no need to fret There is a today There will be a tomorrow. There will be another day For you to shine Under the glorious sunlight. There will be another day For you to fulfil your dreams And never look back. There will be another day For you to find solace In...
I’m Trying
I really do try my best To make sense of the world To search for undiscovered knowledge To seek what others cannot. I try to do what is right Even if it is not popular I’m always trying to find My place in society.
No Man is an Island
No Man is an Island Or Woman so the saying goes For the path of Life ahead of us Is something no one knows For some who’ve given one hundred percent Sometimes the rewards seem small And yet to others fortune abounds Without much effort at all But after all when the...
Snapshots of War
Dice tumble from the tower of reason, shattering lives and illusions with indiscriminate ease; men, women, friends and lovers forced to play a fateful game of impossible, inevitable odds. Acts of uncompromising heroism, born out of necessity and discipline, driven by...
French Toilets – The Mystery
As far back as I can remember France holds this one unfathomable mystery to me How French ladies use their toilets without getting their knickers covered in p**!? I mean the squatting, crouching kind over a drain hole type French loo you can find Where you aren’t sure...
Epiphany
Waitin’s frustratin, teeth are achin from gratin but its gotten me thinkin about the alcohol I’ve been drinkin And what its doing to my health Found this book on a shelf That said I’m gonna die before I’m 45 that’s got to be a lie, cause I’ve got to be alive So now...
inner demons
I was just sittin thinkin, bout this an that makin up stuff just chewin the fat bout dragons n demons n ghosts n ghouls bout kings n princes n jesters n fools bout the fire in the eyes n the strength in the arm n bout how gallant the knight n villains doin harm but as...
A change of heart
I realise I despise all the lies that I told I’m too old and too cold to be true to the few that I knew
Death
Death I am he I am he who strikes fear and pain into the heart and soul of the living to engulf all in eternal darkness a saviour from the wrath of the conscious mind I am he death
Corban Jack Savage age 2 1/2 weeks
He sleeps, he wiggles, I smile! He curls, he stretches, I smile! He wakes, he yawns, I smile! He pulls a face, he poos, I smile! He gets his nappy changed, he pees on me I still smile! He screams, he howls, I smile! He clenches his fist in my chest hair I try to...
Who would I be
If I could be anyone I wanted to be who would I choose would I loose all I had all I did as a lad would it be gone all that Id done all the knocks all the fun where would it go I suppose I dunno its just gone but as I sit on this chair with my lads up the stair I get...
Too Many Times
I know that your talking Telling tales full of pride But your eyes tell a story That your smile fails to hide And I know that your hurting Cause I'm not there by your side I've said goodbye too many times I know its not easy On your own with the boys Trying to be...
I stand before you
I stand before you Not as a soldier not as a warrior Just a man Nothing more nothing less My weapons are off no use now The armour that protected me has been stripped away Nothing is left No flesh No Bones If this is my destiny then so be it For I fought with honour...
Captain James C. Byrd Entreats Death
My leg throbs. I cannot staunch the blood that flows from this tattered thigh. The bullet that pierced my shoulder went straight through me. German lead thuds into this mass of dead and dying men and we writhe like maggots as the very earth moans for us. Yea though I...
The Weight of Forever.
My bones creak with the weight of forever, Around my neck is tied a leaded tether, I remember the places I have been, Especially most of the horrors I have seen. I never forget the smell of death, How its acrid stench burns your breath, The sight of its eyeless gaze,...
A Soldier And His Girl, 1960
Her well rounded curves soft dark hair and brown eyes, with features beautiful I truly love each memory. His smooth silky,fair hair blue eyes filled with passion, twixt desire and delight I treasure every moment.... together true love was found.
Tom. Tom, my only Son
I don’t like children, All those runny noses and smelly bottoms And constant emotional demands And loss of freedom And Thomas the bloody Tank Engine and Winnie the Pooh Over and Over again ad nauseam When there were other more important things I need to do Like wash...
Johnny Gurkha
I was selected by you, I was trained by you, I was sent by you, to go wherever. I was clothed by you, I was fed by you, I was housed by you, at the end of a tether. I was there when you called, I was there to attend, I was there to serve you, my adopted Queen. I...
I Am But…
I am but a grain of sand, Pretending to be part of this land, Sifting through the plains of strife, Trying to figure what to do with this life. I am the grass that plays in the wind, Swaying in the breeze on those that sinned, Happy in the rays of brilliant light,...
One Four And More
Here I am to start what I came for Telling my story from one to four One goal I have lived my whole life for Searching for luxury , richness and more Two decades , twenty years of war Keeping try knocking the door Three months ago I was at the store Bying some things...
The Abandoned Soldier
A youthful face With innocent cares, Wide eyed child With infant stares. The child grew up Played soldier games, With sticks for guns Which hurt, don’t maim. Young boy left school Sought to be a man, To render peace In Afghanistan. But all too soon The decision made,...
Continued Love
I cannot tell you now. Not me. Nor anyone. Words cannot change past actions. But you were loved beyond anything I can describe. There are a whole host of people who have been deprived of meeting you. Who will never know how unlucky they were not to have seen you or...
Remembrance Day
Hand in hand, they'd reach around the World If we would only listen their voices still be heard The men and women who died in two world wars Fighting for peace and justice so freedom could be yours How soon we have forgotten In Burma, Russia, jungles of Japan, the...
Go On Soldier!
Go on soldier! Go on! We’re with you all the way Watching on a plasma screen OK? We know how hard it is We can see the battle scene Go on soldier! Go on! Fight for our cause and theirs Peacekeeper or invader? Who cares? We’re keeping up to speed I’ve updated the...
The Eleventh Hour
The Eleventh Day, the Eleventh Hour Symbolised by a small red flower Which grew beside the scene. A hush descends, the shuffles cease As each one present remembers them; Those who lived, those who cried, Those who suffered, those who died Amid the crimson hue. The...
I.E.D
A cowardly evil weapon the I.E.D While our troops fight to set the Afghan free Away from home in a foreign land Living in tents in the desert sand I.E.D dressed up to sound nice Improvised explosive device Deadly as it is, could be from the Somme Why don’t they say a...
Through The Valley.
As I walk through the valley of blood and sweat, My rifle is cocked and my mind is set, Brother to my left and to my right, If anything happens we are prepared to fight. It feels like I’ve been here all my life, Going against those who would do us strife, My body has...
Leave them with a smile
I look back on my distant past The things I’ve seen and done The trials and tribulations The battles I have won The price of beer when I was young I can’t afford it now Existing on a pension As I take my final bow Chips inside Newspaper Fingers black with Ink No...
A Knock upon the Door
Waking up one morning Rising from my bed A strange and niggling kind of thought Just popped into my head It wasn’t there yesterday Or when I went to bed last night But I have this strangest feeling That something isn’t right I look around my sleepy home At my...
Poetic Fool
In the brain of every poet Atmosphere so quiet But ideas rushes and seems so unsilent Confusion hears his voice But anxiety goes on with its noise Yet a cause to rejoice Some people say every poet is a fool But I say not every fool is a poet Because we rule Some...
Friendship
And yet another year has gone So an email says today Subscription time is here again It’s time for me an annual fee to pay And so I sit and ponder Will this facility I use Or shall I be a free Member So Poetic friends I don’t lose An answer tho’ not hard to find It’s...
Bingo
The flames licked round the twisted kite and there stood Bingo Mearman, he'd fought the fire with all his might to save a single airman, and as he gazed into the blaze, sweat running down his brow, his mind it wandered far away, not if, not who, but how? He threw his...
A yard in Bosnia
The yard below is at its best in Spring. Then, the barbwired walls glint and reflect albino rays of tepid April suns that lightly warm the struggling shoot. In summer the heat is stifling. Enclosed and trapped, it swells within the dusty peeling bricks. Untended...
Sign of the Times
Gun and knife crime on the rise No one can give the reasons why The only excuses that come to mind This is the sign of the times No longer do youngsters settle playground scuffs With kicks and brawls and fisticuffs Today’s revenge is cruel and unkind This is the sign...
A Good War?
It was started with the best of intention with sincerity and high flown objectives as the men of power decreed that it would improve the quality of life and conditions for many making them safer with justice for all by removing the violence and threats to peace many...
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