Remembering

Remembering

As the first chime of the 11th hour of the 11th Day of the 11th Month is heard across the world,

a respectful silence exists amongst the guardians of this planet

Remembering each and every breath of those who marched to war

in pursuit of a freedom treasured above all

Remembering how they marched knowing this would be a freedom they were likely never to see

Remembering the horrors that faced them in combat

which our age of warfare can hardly comprehend

as they so often looked into the eyes of the other as their last breath was taken

Remembering the steely determination of the Women left behind

whose role in life was changed forever

Remembering the faces of children and mothers

as some, just babes in arms, were given up to take refuge

far far away from the never-ending onslaught of bombs which dropped indiscriminately on their homes

Remembering the personal sacrifices in every aspect of life

from dusk till dawn

and the Home Guard the often unsung heroes

Remembering the Resistance in all its forms

Remembering the fallen, the breaths that were heard no more

matched only by the broken hearts of those who received the unspoken news

Remembering the dawn breaking in Compiegne in 1918

within a Wagon both sides faced each other

to bring about Armistice which brought an end to the bloodiest of wars

Remembering those who lost their lives in the unfathomable period

between the signing of the document and the time declared to bring an end to the destruction

Remembering finally the need to hold in our hearts and minds

the overriding freedoms

that were fought for ought to be upheld in perpetuity

in the face of all who seek to erode them