On Being Called to War
The sky wept pearls that
fateful day
The shape of tears and size
of duck eggs
Being called to someone
else’s war
like that though made no
difference ..
The white feather, pinned
as it was
to the back of his starched
white collar
did nowt to help matters
the day
war finally broke and the
sky wept
those now famous pearls ..
-
Author:
Neville (
Offline) - Published: November 29th, 2021 03:30
- Category: Unclassified
- Views: 76
- Users favorite of this poem: kitty the naughty poet, L. B. Mek, Lorna
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Comments12
Many were facing that call and for conscience accepted white feathers and all that resulted from their objection - your pen tells well the wept pearls my friend.............x
although I served in the RAF .. I do wonder how I may or may not have coped under such awful conditions as WW1 threw in our faces ................ thank you for your understanding ... x
I feel the emotion behind this poem. thank you for sharing
Thanks Katie .. I am delighted you felt able to check in ........................... Neville
Good write N.
War is no joke, but in a mad moment I remembered - I had to leave a gal when I went off to the Boer War - being very old, ya know!
No kidding, thanks Mr. O .................................................................................................... N 🙂
Also - Help! It's not so old maybe. In a mainly elderly people's church I heard a couple discussing a memorial of their grand-father or someone, who had been in the Boer War!
blimey ................. its nice to hear that ordinary folk (assuming they were, that is) are remembered so long after passing ................................ N
Very moving words Neville.
Andy
thank you GF60 ............... I always appreciate your visits sir ................. N
Unless called upon to defent this land I hold dear, then give me a white feather and give my uniform, boots and arms to the politician.
I'm with you all the way DA ... and thanks for making me feel like I'm not the only one out here in no mans land ........................................ Neville
Given that particular time and situation I'm pretty sure one of two actions would have been undertaken: I become a collector of white feathers OR I enlist, go to the front and shoot my foot off.....
Thanks Nev - WW1 is something I find hard to, yes, forget.
Good on you DD .. I honestly can't say that I wouldn't do exactly the same thing ........ and yes, for anyone with an ounce of compassion and common sense, forgetting, or failing to remember WW1 would be a grave mistake ..................................................................... Neville
there are many wars, we're
called to
that are not ours, to wage
or fight - for..
some by loyalty
of the flag we love
and proudly: serve..
and some, by the profession
we choose to dedicate
or life: to...
many wars, and many
far, far - Too Many
unremembered Heroes..
and this poem, you share
dear empathetic Poet
be, worded testimony
to the legacy of their
incalculable sacrifices
and heroic deeds!
You are write sir ........................... thank you .. I shall drink to all those known and also the unsung hero's this very eve ............................................................ Neville
one knock on the table
and a sip
full, of unspoken sorrow
'to you, for remembering
to Them
and sadly, to the many
who will: inevitably
join Them!' 🍻
I'm afraid I can't quite grasp what the white feather symbolizes, so I did some digging. Apparently a white feather on the cap, at least in terms of war, symbolizes cowardice. If so the poem makes much more sense but then again I could be wrong. Either way I enjoyed the read and research.
thank you for visiting these words Nicholas .. The white feather is a widely recognised propaganda symbol. It has, among other things, represented cowardice or conscientious pacifism; as in A. E. W. Mason\'s 1902 book, The Four Feathers.
In Britain during the First World War it was often given to men out of uniform by women to shame them publicly into signing up. .. Never as far as I am aware in the UK were they ever voluntarily worn as a symbol of cowardice .. In the US however, I understand they may have a different meaning altogether .. I appreciate the time you took trying to understand my scribble .. hope this response makes it all the more clearer ... Neville
Yeah what I found was the United Kingdom's use of them being given to men as a sign of their cowardice. I suppose I should have been more specific. Thank you for clearing that up good sir.
Well written! War and tears go hand in hand!
White feathers to me are pure, that's where I stand! Seriously though! Lots of young men lost their lives, they had no choice, perhaps some ran!
I dunno about well written ... but everything else you have mentioned is an absolute fact .. thank you my dear friend ...................... so hope you are gonna hang around here for while .... x
How in goodness's name I always ask myself does a young man know how he will react to war..... we do so so so underestimate what it must take for them to do this and I've read so much especially about WWII (in the Pacific even more than Europe) and Vietnam and just can't figure out how they stayed sane. God bless them all......
thank you Lorna, it does make one wonder doesn't it ........... & yes indeed, bless them all ......................... N
War is inevitable and loss of life it’s by-product, but each individual must have the right to decide if the cause is justified.
Yet you have prosed the horrors of war so eloquently
I am inevitably ashamed of my own species .......................... thank you for reminding me of what seems to be the case .. Neville
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