75. Remembrance (75)

Whilst walking in a woods so quiet
The smell of pine rose in the air;
Blue sky and birds can hear,
There is abundant life, one can cheer!

Sitting under an aged oak,
Staring outward landscape grow.
Mind drifting, projected thoughts…
The events, the matter of course.

Here I sit, alive and well!
And see the ghosts of yesteryear…
It was not so quiet, peace did not dwell;
The ground was scarred and the bells did toll…

I can hear the crack! The thud of shells,
Lightning flashes mud, dust, the smells…
Sulphur, the decay!
The voices heard never leaves my head.
The wounded, the screams, crying and prayer.

One’s buddy, the support that gets you through
The promises, the letters if one fails to do…
The fear of leaving alone, subdue.
With the guilt it was they, not you…..

I look at today and see more wars
No lessons learned no reminder in schools…
Those that deny the holocaust!
Those it offends, they see glory in wars…

Throughout our history, I am just one
That sits under the oak as ages gone…
Events will repeat a daughter or son.
The land our record, until the last one…