Evergreen from our Resident Poet

EVERGREEN - FROM OUR RESIDENT POET

EVERGREEN

Yes, I remember VE Day,

Actually, a few nights before,

When premature news set the dark streets alight

With impromptu bonfires, euphoric neighbours,

Cheering, singing, laughter, hugs and kisses

And beatific smiles which transformed faces

Marked by six years of devastating war.

We children, cushioned by all-knowing adults,

Had survived siren suits, congested air raid shelters,

Mickey Mouse gasmasks, brain deadening sirens

And sprints to home from school, which had no shelters,

Through deserted streets which, tomorrow,

Would be a source of war treasure

To add to the cache of shrapnel, jealously guarded.

Through long years of deprivation, horror, sadness, mourning,

The Armed Forces resolutely fought on,

United in the cause of Justice and, ultimately, peace.

It is only with hindsight and maturity,

That we can look back on world events and realise

The unpayable debt we owe to the existing few,

And those who did not survive.

Contrary to many definitions,

History is not just the past.

It is the present, the future,

The catalyst for the survival of the Human Race.