The Sandbag Times Remembrance Special

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Poetry Corner A Tale of Remembrance Dogs of War or Brothers in Arms Young men from cities, valley’s and farms Sworn to the crown and a countries peace Honour, Pride and Courage, the Soldiers Creed The Shilling is taken, the deal is struck This code of honour, this game of luck Pain’s now his friend in so many ways A soldier’s burden for the rest of his days Why go to war, a war without end If not our hero’s, then who do we send Sentenced to hell in a war torn land Dodging the reaper hidden in sand But this isn’t new, it’s from centuries past From bow and arrow to bullets and gas But what of the lessons when our hero’s return In a flag draped coffin, what did we learn? So we begin our journey on neighbouring shores This one was called “The War to end Wars” Trenches were dug and Tommies were slain The First World War was all done in vain From the first to the second and a new kind of hell A bully’s in power, a country has fell To Europe again, they answered the call Young men gathered all standing tall On land and at sea the battles are fought Inch by inch their liberty’s bought Then came the time of the Battle of Britain Defending our skies, our future was written And then the Tyrant had fallen and peace was restored You never know, this could be the war to end wars And for a while, we thought it was true As our hero’s stayed home with nothing to do But conflicts still raged in far distant lands Korea, South Africa and then Viet Nam Cyprus and Turkey and God only knows How the hell we still think we are friends and not foes But then to the Cold War, Political Chess A Nuclear stalemate between East and the West The Hammer and Sickle would not bend To the Star Spangled Banner with no means to an end The fear of destruction would not make them see The horrors of fallout that could so easily be The end of mankind for a political cause Maybe that would be the war to end wars But the wait was not long before violence returned Because in ’69 innocence burned In the Emerald Isle, the theatre was set A land full of hatred, fear and regret The Ministers said we’d be home in December How quick they forget, how long we remember We arrived as heroes but the message got lost As the price we paid wasn’t worth the cost Bricks and Nails and Bottles and Sticks With the odd petrol bomb thrown in with the mix Kids line the streets and shout out abuse These guns that we brandish are completely no use A rebel song sang of green, white and gold Of a deep routed hatred of young through to old No matter the threat we must remain true We swore our allegiance to red, white and blue But what was the reason for this civil war Was it religion or politics or just hate for the law? Whatever the reason, the blind lead the blind With the politicians and priests all standing behind But while the war raged within our own land Fate was close by to deal its next hand Ships and troops were rallied in panic To go fight a war in the South Atlantic The Task Force arrived and the job began To liberate our people from an occupied land But the Alter of Freedom came at a cost As once again lives were tragically lost The desert was next to become the damned As war broke out in the Holy land Reactions were quick and the job was done But yet again, many had died at the point of a gun And then back to Europe but this time the East To Bosnia and Kosovo to ensure there was peace Still the lessons of history had not been learned As, once again, the innocent were banished and burned Villages and roadsides were full of the dead As ethnic cleansing stained the government red But all our hero’s could do was watch in vain As the horror unfolded again and again Then that was that and peace was restored Even in Ireland they were talking once more Could it be that we were now finding peace At last, all the killing and dying could finally cease Then all of a sudden Armageddon came As the Twin Towers fell and war broke out again But this time they faced a new kind of foe Back to Iraq and Afghanistan our hero’s would go And there in that land they continue to fight In a terrorist war with no end in sight IED’s and ambushes, fire fights and mines And yet again, we’ve ignored the danger signs But they died for our freedom and our right to live On land, sea and air their lives they did give Those that survive still live with the pain Reliving their nightmares again and again So when we come to remember, lest we forget The pain and the courage, the blood and the sweat We owe so much as Churchill once said So as the Last Post ends, bow your heads and remember our dead We will remember them Written by Pablo Snow | 30 www.sandbagtimes.co.uk
Poetry Corner Win This Fantastic Title This unusual and beautiful book collects together twenty five of the often read, wellloved poets. Each poet is illustrated with an original watercolor portrait by the talented young artist, Charlotte Zeepvat, who reproduces in pleasing script one of their works, giving a biographical summary that placed the poet firmly in the battlefield context in which their work was conceived. To have a chance at winning this fabulous book, simply email your poetry to: jane@sandbagtimes.com Remember Me (The voice of the dead) Remember me Duty called and I went to war Though I'd never fired a gun before I paid the price for your new day As all my dreams were blown away Remember me We all stood true as whistles blew And faced the shell and stench of Hell Now battle's done, there is no sound Our bones decay beneath the ground We cannot see, or smell, or hear There is no death, or hope or fear Remember me Once we, like you, would laugh and talk And run and walk and do the things that you all do But now we lie in rows so neat Beneath the soil, beneath your feet Remembrance On the boot muddied fields where the grasses once grew Swaying tall proud and strong stirred by only the breeze Where the blood of good men drained deep into the soil And the silence is marked by soft whispers from trees No more guns blast the air striking men as they ran Seeking shelter from hell as their brothers fell still No more screaming and tears as brave men breathed their last Just the silence of death floating far to the hills The breeze carries the scent of shells recently spent And it bites thick and sharp on the ground and the air Though the years have passed by yet the shadows remain We remember them all as we offer our prayers When the sun hits the ground warming seeds from her womb So the poppies burst through in a tide of bright red And they sway and they swell in great ribbons of love Born to remind us all of our mens resting heads Many summers pass by in the fields where they fought And the scars of their souls will forever remain But as sun warms the lands so the poppies will shine Bringing life to the lands from the death and the pain Jane Shields © Poetry Corner Send your Poems into us at jane@sandbagtimes.com Remember me In mud and gore and the blood of war We fought and fell and move no more Remember me, I am not dead I'm just a voice within your head Harry Riley www.sandbagtimes.co.uk 31 |
Page 1: The Veterans’ Magazine Issue 37 |
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The Sandbag Times Remembrance Special

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