Armistice Day 11.11.11

Todays poem is a long one so I will say no more  as it speaks for it's self.

If you were selected to bring someone back,
Who had fought for this country and died,
Would you be proud as you showed them our world,
Or want to go somewhere and hide?
 
People died for their country, their family, their friends,
For principals once we held dear;
They fought so that children, could face every day,
Free from the ‘Ogre of Fear’
 
We are fighting oppression, the government said,
And in return for the life you might give,
When it’s over, we promise, to build a new world
A land ‘fit for heroes to live’
 
Equality, regardless of race, creed or kin,
A fitting reward for the brave;
With a home, and a job, and insurance
To protect you from ‘cradle to grave’
 
So as you display all the progress we’ve made,
Violence, drugs, greed and crime,
Unemployment, corruption and old people afraid,
Wouldn’t you be ashamed of ‘our time’?
 
Would our new standards, and morals impress
Someone who died in the war?
Or would they walk away with tears of regret, saying
“It’s not what I gave my life for”


Tom Smith