I look backward and think
of both men and women,
who have given life and limb
to their ideals and beliefs
for the reasons of sacrifice
and their hopes for peace.

The soldiers, the airmen,
the sailors and merchant navy,
in this month of November
I place my poppy upon my breast
and feel proud to remember.

I shed my tears and
think of the heart – ache
that every family shares,
for war touches all our lives,
history walks beside us
the risks we are expected to endure.

But teaches nothing?
as long as we bear arms,
each year we remember
as day by day, our troops still leave
and too many boxes return.

And I, as a mother, wonder
“Is it worth the risk?”