Yeoman Service

liked this,, and thought the last 'so I
saluted until my arm
was as tired as my soul.' really excellent.

Yes, I like this too and the dry tone in particular. The final 5 lines are v. clever, I feel. Particularly 'safety in numbness' - a nice play. Lucky Cyril!

Yeah I liked this too. The end in particular.

I found it very moving actually, I can't pick out a line, it's short and neat, but very poignant.

Sadly, Cyril was not so lucky. He was a friend of mine while we served in the forces, he died before he reached 40 and his death was the main reason I left the military on a reduced pension. You never know what's around the corner, and I was determined to live an examined life and that meant changing it. Cyril left two young children and a widow; like a lot of the racket-y Berlin boys he married late in life. Some of my poems are for him, because I doubt if I would have written any - if not for re-examining my priorities when he'd gone.

I'm sorry for what obviously was a great loss.

loved it - ditto all the comments above. thanks for your interesting and poignant explanation of the inspiration and impetus behind this.