Smokin cigarettes on legion steps with army apparitions,
I see visions of storming beaches against Nazi ammunition,
Good defeats evil with God on your side,
As shots ring out I march forward with pride,
Bayonets attached assuming close quarters contact,
I'll impale any body meaning harm that's a fact,
In the evening I cry over spilled blood,
There must be a thousand gallons of it mixed with mud,
Snap to reality I think of my uncle a veteran,
His days in France were filled with adrenaline,
A shot ricocheted off his helmet to start,
Leading next to a land mine that blew apart,
Wounded then captured by enemy soldiers,
Nine months as a POW narrowed his shoulders,
The served up slop incited dysentery,
Prisoners weren't treated human but as inventory,
An unrecognizable ninety pound man,
Was the discovery by the rescue team plan,
Brought back to health by British doctors and nurses,
Sent my hero home to Canada inspiring these verses,
He lived remaining years with shrapnel embedded,
Post war it was sleep that he dreaded,
For it were dream states where he relived tragedy,
There's no man made drug for that malady,
I hope he settles easy in his heavenly state,
I'm sure he's found comfort as old fears abate,
He deserves some peace, he secured it for my nation
I'm grateful to him and those called greatest generation.
We should be happy knowing he was blessed,
To live ninety-eight years before his final rest,
That's seventy or more than those that had fallen,
So goodbye soldier your comrades are calling.
~ Farls Tokley
YOU ARE READING
Past Tense Defence
PoetryThis collection of poems is somewhat self explanatory. I held a mirror up to my soul and my reflection was viewed as the following. It poured out of me, I just wrote it down.
