Armistice Day Poems

These two poems were written when I was about 12

NOVEMBER 12TH 1918

Peter's march is slowed now;
The metal, the wood
All gone, that 'shine'.
"Ended", they said,
Though it was long, long overdue
The lull, the pause.
Where lies the conclusion?

Broken men he passed
On his tramp to the start
Of his life after death.
Smoke and screams seemed so far behind
While the flowers seemed too far ahead.


-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------



FUNERAL OF A COMRADE

I saw a painted ribbon,
The name I didn't catch,
A death pall, holding shadows -
Dark, and long, and drawn.
The wagon held the cannon,
The coffin held the tale,
The leaders held the reason,
The widows placed the blame.