D-Day, Normandy
Little food, enduring
smiles in spite of pain, these
soldiers
young men
from families far away, 10,000
casualties that
first day,
allies and American alike.
*
Victory in Paris, De Gaulle
and troops, women rushing into the
streets, kisses & flowers
the
hunger of joy.
Then it continues, bombings
air battles, tanks
rushing
men fierce in their pride,
the Manfried Line is death
revulsion
of mind and spirit.
*
V-E Day
now kiss me, my darling.
© 2004-2009 Richard L. Provencher
All Rights Reserved
Comments
sarah wilson | June 17, 2009 - 14:15
"the
hunger of joy" What a lovely line. And the last line too. Nice one Richard:) sarah x
pinda | June 17, 2009 - 15:57
"Little food, enduring
smiles in spite of pain" Wonderful line Richard,good job.That line made me think how the soldiers in Afhanistand etc put up with ruough conditions but don't moan.Yet school teachers go on strikes with their unions because they demand more holidays.Ridiculous world sometimes.
Thanks for such a brilliant read.
Keep up the good work
Pinda
Peace
x
Richard L. Prov... | June 18, 2009 - 02:54
Thank you, Sarah and Pinda. One of the joys of writing is creating fresh word-phrasing, like a special mixture of colours. This poem is one of my favourites. It was written in honour of my father, Adelard Jr., who spent four years (two in Canada and two in Europe) in World War 11. Many people do not realize in WW 1 & 11, the armed forces did not come home from Europe, until the enemy was beaten. So those who served then gave up so much of their lives. And as mentioned above, we must also honour our veterans in Iraq and Afghanistan who are there to help the citizens, gain some measure of freedom. Look at what is happening in Iran, where people are tired of dictatorship. God bless everyone.