There’s a chair around our table
Where my father used to eat
Before they sent him off to war
And blew him off his feet
A captain and a clergyman
Came and knocked our door
And told my mum that dad
Would not be coming home no more
My mum she worked her fingers bare
Did all that she was able
To keep us warm and keep us clothed
And put food on the table
And I saw the hurt and I saw the pain
And the fear behind her eyes
And I know she never came to terms
With my dads sacrifice
And I know she always watched the door
And prayed he would come back
But all she had was memories
And a folded Union Jack.
There’s a man who lives just down our street
99 years old
Lived and fought through 2 World Wars
And did his bit I’m told
He stands up straight, is always smart
Conducts himself with pride
But there’s sadness deep inside his heart
That so many others died
I see him sometimes in the pub
A half pint on the bar
And perhaps a game of bingo
If his pension goes that far
He leaves before it gets too late
Cautious, pensive, nervous
And no one ever asks his name
Or thanks him for his service
A woman who had joined the army
2 streets down from ours
Did 2 tours in pointless wars
And came back full of scars
It changed everything about her
And her family never knew
The horror that she’d seen out there
And all that she’d been through
I saw her just the other day
In a shop doorway she stood
With “Please help, homeless veteran”
Written on a piece of wood
With dirty clothes and hollow cheeks
No one found it strange
That a hero and victim of 2 Gulf Wars
Was begging them for change
Once a year this nation
Just as the days grow shorter
Stand in condemnation
Of the bloody senseless slaughter
Of all those lost in recent tours
Those that came home combined
Of all those lost in 2 World Wars
And the ones they left behind
Without them we would not be here
Our freedom is their gift
They get just one day every year
To acknowledge that they lived
And it’s wrong
You dont need to wear a poppy
To honour them with pride
But for every one you see displayed
Somebody has died.
No amount of money
Can reimburse those lost or maimed
There is no benefit in
Pointing fingers, laying blame
But one thing is for certain
And that is we should remember
Every nation, every war, every day
Not one day in November