To fight, and die for liberty,
That we might live in sweet content
When destruction seemed so imminent.
The sacrifice these soldiers made,
Pierced by shell and cut by blade,
But never yielding to the foe
Though rations scarce, munitions low.
The war passed on, and left behind
A seeming never-ending line
Of mangled bodies, left to tell
Of what had been a living hell.
And those that came back home again,
Mere shadows of the former men,
Remind us of the infinite debt
We owe to them: LEST WE FORGET.
-- Alec Taylor (ca. 1944)
Comment: It is sad how relevant this poem continues to be. Will the world never learn?
Photo: Canadian Military Cemetery, Reviers, Normandy (iStockphoto)
This is a touching tribute to your dad. And yes, sadly the words are as relevant today as they were more than 65 years ago.
ReplyDeleteBoth my mother and my mother-in-law had their only brothers never come home.
ReplyDelete