A hundred years and more
The carnage of The Great War
Carving landscapes, bodies and souls
Leaving horrific scars beyond our control!
Soldiers’ scars run deep, for some - eternal sleep,
Family lines slashed, now our legacy to keep
Cemeteries plotted across the earth
Quilting the countryside, identifying their worth,
Headstones scarred with names, or sadly many not!
For those that lay where they were shot,
Stunning monuments dominate the skies
Acknowledging their heroic demise.
Countryside disfigured by ancient shell
Trenches that became tombs of hell
New growth bandaging the earth’s skin
Aesthetics covering a time so grim!
Still weeping the poison of that war
Expelling splinters of death from its core,
Hands across the nations,
Hands across the generations
Tending the scars born of yesteryears!
Never forgotten in the hands of volunteers.
Beastly marks now etched with beauty
The many souls abruptly relieved of duty!
The scars of yesteryear - the scars of now
Lessons learnt? Tell me - pray tell me -how!