Death spared him
that autumn day in France,
in September
nineteen eighteen.
Counter-battery bombardment
they called it then in WWI;
counter-guns, -gunners, -officers;
counter-my twenty-three year old Dad.
No med-evac chopppers then
only stretchers, ambulances,
and finally the hospital ship to take
the badly wounded back home to Blighty.
Family history does not reveal
how my parents had met,
but by October 1918
they were married.
By May 1920 I was born;
by 1924, the Grim Reaper had found
and finished off another of those gunners
only badly wounded back there in 1918.
I have, in my 87 years
helped produce three children
six grandchildren and
two great-grandchildren.
They are my legacy.
They are also my father's legacy.
They shall, I hope, grow old reading this
and proudly remembering him.
Author notes
In memory of Lt Joseph Shenton Williams. MC, Royal Field Artillery [1895-1924] - R.I.P.
A contest entry
- An AllPoetry Extravaganza-3 Month Gold and Silver Membership by Violet Moodswing.
3000 points, ended September 11, 2007, 28 entries
• next poem in this contest, remove from contest
Please tell me what you think
Comments
1 - 8 of 8
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A wonderful story conveyed in few words. Thanks for entering and best of luck in the contest.
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Thank you for your entry into the Allpoetry Legacy contest. A wonderful story here that would have benefitted from more descriptive words and Imagery. It has a tendency to read like simple prose, with spaces between the lines. Best of luck to you.
Paul -
Thank you for your entry into the Legacy contest .. good luck to you.
lisa -
Goodness me, your father's story here, regiment and everything is almost that of my Grandfather- although my grandfather died in 1993 aged 97. He stayed in the Army until his retirement in the 1960s having joined up in 1913 as a farm boy and finished as a Colonel. He got the MM because he was not an officer- only officers like your Dad got the MM. I gues my point is that your legacy is my legacy too, and we must try to honour the legacy that the men who fought and died in the 1914-1919 , the lost generation, gave us and do them the honour of trying not to waste any more lives in the name of war.
I think there are only two veterans now remaining, certainly in the UK.
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In your first stanza I didn't care for the repetition of "in".
While I appreciate the sentiment, this read more like a time line. I would have liked to have seen more imagery.
Just my opinion and thank you for your entry.
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This is a wonderful tribute and I am sure that he would have been proud
Thank you for your entry and the best of luck!
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A great tribute poem and indeed a legacy. It seems this word lends itself to military poems, but this is also beautifully done. Love, C
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