WAR CRIMES

'A rope and lonely bugle call
announcing his departure
from hell; to heaven he falls!'

- loved the last stanza Chris, very, very clever! Another haunting yet beautiful read, well done ;) On a side note - I've just ordered 'The Book Thief'!

Magic xxx

A sad beautiful story....and all in the name of encouraging the others.

Chris, this is just about perfect. I have to agree with Magic too; the last stanza is absolutely brilliant. Congrats on the well-deserved cherry.

Thanks Magic, glad you liked. Delighted that you have ordered 'The Book Thief'; you will love it, I read it in 2 sittings...and thanks to Nathan for the original recommendation. ;) XX

Thanks chuck, glad you liked also. There is something so emotive about this time in our history. If some were better educated about this era, maybe they would have a different outlook on many aspects of their lives.... or is that a bit to deep and wistful? Anyway....;)

Thanks D. I know from the reading I have done on the subject, that things like this actually happened. In the relatively early days of the war, young men were shot or hanged for cowardice. Later 'shell shock' was recognised as a legitimate illness and men/boys were sent home for treatment. Sadly a lot were not. Cheers mate and thanks to the cherry gods, ;)

Chris - I think it has all been said. A thought provoking poem, beautifully written. "When will they ever learn?" as the song says.

Well deserving of its cherry. Magnificent. (I bought the 'Book Thief' for my daughter this Christmas, strangely enough.

Tina xxx

Thanks Tina. History seems - for the most part - to be circular; we seem to keep repeating the same mistakes over and over. That will happen when you have the lunatics running the asylum. Thanks for reading...grab that book yourself and have a read; it's fabulous! XXX

Might just do that!

:-)

'There is something so emotive about this time in our history.'

It was a real turning point. There is something very touching about all those men marching off to France then going 'over the top' to almost certain death. I don't think the War Office could get away with something like that these days. Perhaps it's just the methods of killing that change.

Very evocative and deeply felt. The poetry is in the pity !!!

'Sixteen years but deemed a man;'

I love this line and the last stanza is a spit'n'polish finish.

The poem is very honest and true. I love it, love it, love it! A well deserved cherry! Obviously... ;-D

By the way, I'm glad that my recommendation of 'The Book Thief' sparked a reaction. ;-p

It's an amazing book isn't it?

Nathan.

Thanks again chuck; I agree 100%

Thanks Hilary, glad you liked ;)

Thanks Nathan glad you liked.
Finished 'The Book Thief' in 2 sittings; amazing piece of writing, fantastic story and one that will remain in my memory for a long, long time. Thanks for the recommendation. Read another one since; 'The Whit Tiger' and reading 'Slum Dog Millionaire', would recommend both of those too. ;)

Hi Chris

I like the sudden shock change to "'They hanged him...".

and I especially love

"No magic mummy’s hankie!"

I don't know if that's a common expression where you are from but I hadn't heard it before and it immediately evoked fond memories of my childhood.

As for

"from hell; to heaven he falls!"

Very clever and a great strong and memorable ending.

Thanks J. glad you liked. 'Magic mummy's hankie'; when I was growing up (a bloody long time ago now) if you fell and grazed the knees, or anything else, mum would spit on a hankie (we used to use them before paper tissues became common) and give it a rub; like magic it was all better and we were free to go off and skin the other one lol.

Chris ;)

Hi Chris. Same experience as you. That's exactly where it took me back to - oh happy days! Hadn't thought of it for years and a little annoyed you thought up the phrase before me ;D.