Monday, 14 January 2008

ON THE BLOODY FIELD OF BATTLE

Bright burnished copper shields
Shined bright as gold in the midday sun
Spear points glinted in the sun
Like a myriad of dancing fire flies
Silver lights blinked from polished
Buckles and embellishments
The clink of metal on metal
The snort of impatient horses
The barking of impatient sergeants
Leather creaked and strained
On soldier and beast
All the sights brought back to mind
Vivid remembrances
And the sounds spoke a familiar tongue
To the battle hardened
Anticipation dried the mouth
Almost as much as the dust
Banners fluttered lightly in the breeze
Some standing as tall as trees
And carrion eaters waited unseen
For the coming banquet
Then the battle commenced
With an ensuing cacophony
Many died quickly, painlessly
Not even seeing the fatal blow
Equally many died slowly
In agony from their wounds
Others lay on the bloody field
For hours and survived
Only to fight and die another day
The victors write the history
Of the bloody days events
The truth also lies dying
On the bloody field of battle

ON THE BATTLE GROUND

ON THE BATTLE GROUND

Soldiers stand in contemplation
Young faces etched in concentration
NCO’s keep them holding steady

A mounted officer comes prancing
Upon his steed nervously dancing
Then comes the order to be ready

nervpously awaiting engagement
Standing firm for the regiment
Then artillery is exchanged

Just standfast and hold the line
Just do that lads and all is fine
Then the bugles tune is changed

The air fills with acrid smoke
And men must stand and choke
After the muskets flash

Across the open ground
The heavy horses pound
And then the sabres clash

The lancers Bodies tumble
As the legs of horses crumple
And lie on the battleground

Wounded cut and bleeding
Their Precious life receding
The lucky die without a sound

Remember the fallen brothers
Dying for you and others
Remember the forgotten

On foreign fields they lay
Buried deep beneath the clay
Remember the forgotten

Remember the forgotten
Beneath the earth and rotten
They’re heroes one and all

So tell the valiant story
Let us remember them in glory
For those who stand and fall

THE LAST DAWN

On the horizon the eastern sky was lightening
But the over cast skies were not brightening
The dawn had little effect on the Grey sky
It was certainly a miserable morning to die

The sounds of the long range guns was absent
And the chorus of birdsong had not been vent
Just the cloud scudding across the murky sky
It was certainly a peaceful morning to die

The young soldier was led out in the silence
To face the firing squad to serve his sentence
The last cigarette signaled the end was nigh
What an undignified manner in which to die

The young man wanted to face his fate bravely
If he must die then he would do so with dignity
He would meet his maker with head held high
Though it was such an ignominious way to die

He did not run away and he was not a deserter
Nor a coward and could not be called traitor
But still he stood blindfold neath the dawn sky
In battle would have been a better way to die

His crime was to be blown over by an explosion
To lose his weapon and to suffer a concussion
His only visible injury was a cut above his eye
Its ironic really he was very lucky not to die

He was found wandering out of no mans land
Half senseless and with no weapon in his hand
His only injury was just that cut above his eye
It really is ironic how lucky he was not to die

Little did he know as he marched proudly away
What would become of him on a cold Grey day
When he kissed his love and then said goodbye
Little did he know how he would come to die

Crying out in fear is what filled him with dread
Before the shot was heard he was already dead
A new dawn breaking under the slate Grey sky
Why exactly did this young soldier have to die?

History would show that he was without blame
A young soldier no longer associated with shame
In the war to end all wars this you cannot deny
To be shot at dawn was a ridiculous way to die

IF NOT

If not the lord
Then what?
Raiki?
Yoga?
Or feng shui
Worshiping the elements
The sun and the moon
A return to chaos
Pagan times
Before the fisher of men
Cast his net

If not our lord
Then who?
What idol?
What fad or fashion
Plastic surgeons
The new gods
De-toxing
And colonic irrigation
Or wannabee’s
Worshiping celebrity
At the alter of fame

If not the Christ
Then what?
Loss of faith
Loss of belief
But they don’t stop believing
Because they have a need
A desperate need
To believe in something
So they believe
In everything and anything
Except the risen Christ

BANG

BANG

Bang!
Isn’t that how it all began?
Scientists tell us so
Like the gospels
Darwin’s disciples preach it
Talking of the creation myth
And the big bang theory
As if a theory has more weight
Than a myth
God didn’t create the universe
They say
But science with its big bang
I find it hard to believe
It cannot be so
Science cannot create a world
Or a universe
They can only end it
With a big bang
Science will ultimately destroy
What they play with life like a toy
They try to play god
With their own creations
Science gave us gun powder
Nuclear weaponry
Choking carbon monoxide
Acid rain
Holes in the ozone layer
I believe in the creation
And the creator
God created us all
With all our faults and frailties
And god gave us great abilities
But he also gave us reason
And the common good sense when not to use them
Just because we can do something
Doesn’t mean that we should
I believe god created a world to love
But if it all began
With that big bang
And nothing existed
Before that moment
Who lit the match?
Who pressed the button?
Who flicked the switch?
That caused the explosion
The bang
The ignition of life
In all its forms
Perhaps we are an experiment
In some cosmic crucible
Or the universe is contained
Within a dirty goldfish bowl
Whose water could imminently be refreshed?
It doesn’t really matter
How it started
Either by the creation myth
Or the big bang theory
The argument is like the universe
A question of balance
Good and bad
Great and small
Searing heat and freezing cold
High and low
There has to be an opposite
To give credence to either
All I know of the universe
The world
This life
Is its very special
Very precious
And finite
Which begs another question?
How will it end?
Will it be with a
Bang!

FOR ANNA

The babe angelically reposed
Cherubic and smartly clothed
Apparent parental joy and pride
God parents standing side by side
As all around the font arrayed
With love and harmony displayed
And when the spoken words allow
The holy waters cross her brow
Then after the ritual is satisfied
Anna, in Christ’s family is baptized

A PASSING SOUL

Unflinching faith is much admired
To pass with dignity is what’s desired
Slipping quietly away in to the light
And with passed loved ones, reunite
Let slip the earthly bonds, external
And embrace the love of god eternal