WAR CRIMES

Cherry

By threeleafshamrock

Sat, 18 Apr 2009
  • 3645 reads
16 comments
 

They called him coward!
He lay with his dying friend and
refusing commands, whispered prayers.

He held the hand until the light
had dimmed from frightened eyes
and bowed to sob and mourn.

They hanged him as the sun
clambered over the horizon.
He stands trembling; confused.

He fancies he sees his fathers face,
coming to him through the cordite
scented mist; yellowed with the morn.

The dampness that falls lightly
on his face, like the dew-soft tears
of a mothers’ broken heart.

Sixteen years but deemed a man;
no more boys’ games or cuddles.
No magic mummy’s hankie!

A rope and lonely bugle call
announcing his departure
from hell; to heaven he falls!

Certificate U
Poem
The Words of War
Crime

Comments

Submitted by MistakenMagic on
'A rope and lonely bugle call announcing his departure from hell; to heaven he falls!' - loved the last stanza Chris, very, very clever! Another haunting yet beautiful read, well done ;) On a side note - I've just ordered 'The Book Thief'! Magic xxx

 

Submitted by chuck on
A sad beautiful story....and all in the name of encouraging the others.

Submitted by Dynamaso on
Chris, this is just about perfect. I have to agree with Magic too; the last stanza is absolutely brilliant. Congrats on the well-deserved cherry.

 

Submitted by threeleafshamrock on
Thanks Magic, glad you liked. Delighted that you have ordered 'The Book Thief'; you will love it, I read it in 2 sittings...and thanks to Nathan for the original recommendation. ;) XX

Submitted by threeleafshamrock on
Thanks chuck, glad you liked also. There is something so emotive about this time in our history. If some were better educated about this era, maybe they would have a different outlook on many aspects of their lives.... or is that a bit to deep and wistful? Anyway....;)

Submitted by threeleafshamrock on
Thanks D. I know from the reading I have done on the subject, that things like this actually happened. In the relatively early days of the war, young men were shot or hanged for cowardice. Later 'shell shock' was recognised as a legitimate illness and men/boys were sent home for treatment. Sadly a lot were not. Cheers mate and thanks to the cherry gods, ;)

Submitted by Silver Spun Sand on
Chris - I think it has all been said. A thought provoking poem, beautifully written. "When will they ever learn?" as the song says. Well deserving of its cherry. Magnificent. (I bought the 'Book Thief' for my daughter this Christmas, strangely enough. Tina xxx

 

Submitted by threeleafshamrock on
Thanks Tina. History seems - for the most part - to be circular; we seem to keep repeating the same mistakes over and over. That will happen when you have the lunatics running the asylum. Thanks for reading...grab that book yourself and have a read; it's fabulous! XXX

Submitted by Silver Spun Sand on
Might just do that! :-)

 

Submitted by chuck on
'There is something so emotive about this time in our history.' It was a real turning point. There is something very touching about all those men marching off to France then going 'over the top' to almost certain death. I don't think the War Office could get away with something like that these days. Perhaps it's just the methods of killing that change.

Submitted by hilary west on
Very evocative and deeply felt. The poetry is in the pity !!!

 

Submitted by threeleafshamrock on
Thanks again chuck; I agree 100% Thanks Hilary, glad you liked ;)

Submitted by threeleafshamrock on
Thanks Nathan glad you liked. Finished 'The Book Thief' in 2 sittings; amazing piece of writing, fantastic story and one that will remain in my memory for a long, long time. Thanks for the recommendation. Read another one since; 'The Whit Tiger' and reading 'Slum Dog Millionaire', would recommend both of those too. ;)

Submitted by Jupiter on
Hi Chris I like the sudden shock change to "'They hanged him...". and I especially love "No magic mummy’s hankie!" I don't know if that's a common expression where you are from but I hadn't heard it before and it immediately evoked fond memories of my childhood. As for "from hell; to heaven he falls!" Very clever and a great strong and memorable ending.

Submitted by threeleafshamrock on
Thanks J. glad you liked. 'Magic mummy's hankie'; when I was growing up (a bloody long time ago now) if you fell and grazed the knees, or anything else, mum would spit on a hankie (we used to use them before paper tissues became common) and give it a rub; like magic it was all better and we were free to go off and skin the other one lol. Chris ;)

Submitted by Jupiter on
Hi Chris. Same experience as you. That's exactly where it took me back to - oh happy days! Hadn't thought of it for years and a little annoyed you thought up the phrase before me ;D.