Sing me a song of a lad that is gone
Tell me of his mother’s woe
Croon his last words said on far battle field
Spoken to only his foe
Utter a glimpse into what things were like
When bullets were falling around
Convey just a fraction of feelings you felt
The day he was sunk in the ground
Hum out the trumpets cold sorrowful wail
Sounding out taps for this lad
Then tell me how I can go on when the war
Took the only child I had
Author notes
My line was:
Sing me a song of a lad that is gone
A contest entry
- Second Index of First Lines by Keith.
525 points, ended April 12, 2008, 16 entries
Honorable mention
• next poem in this contest, remove from contest
Please tell me what you think
Comments
1 - 7 of 7
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war means only destruction--mental and physical ,leaving an emotional void for many a life ...well brought out in your words....
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Your last line was terrific and painful, to "Convey just a fraction of feelings you felt". A young man makes his choice and leaves many people to mourn his passage. This is worth more than HM, but the competition was strong. Well done and congratulations.
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Poignant and powerful ...
and sadly, all too true for far too many people.
Did you by chance mean "convey" instead of "covey"?
Anyway, excellent poem as usual.
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As always, thank you for finding my typos
Much appreciated as is the comment
Ruth
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Sad storyline
This is done all the time.
I experienced much from those times and occassionally write about thoses times.
It would be a wonderful world if there was no conflicts. Will not happen in my lifetime, maybe it will in yours.
Jim
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Very nicely done, and I echo your sentiments. The original poem is by Robert Louis Stevenson, and is very popular in Scotland. There's a tune to it, and my father used to sing it to me, as a matter of fact, when I was a wean (that's Scots for child). Bonnie Prince Charlie was rowed over the sea to Skye by Flora MacDonald, but Stevenson's poem I think is more of a song of longing for a time of greater innocence. And so is yours.
Sing Me a Song of a Lad That is Gone
Sing me a song of a lad that is gone,
Say, could that lad be I?
Merry of soul he sailed on a day
Over the sea to Skye.
Mull was astern, Rum on the port,
Eigg on the starboard bow;
Glory of youth glowed in his soul;
Where is that glory now?
Sing me a song of a lad that is gone,
Say, could that lad be I?
Merry of soul he sailed on a day
Over the sea to Skye.
Give me again all that was there
Give me the sun that shone!
Give me the eyes, give me the soul,
Give me the lad that's gone!
Sing me a song of a lad that is gone,
Say, could that lad be I?
Merry of soul he sailed on a day
Over the sea to Skye.
Billow and breeze, islands and seas,
Mountains of rain and sun,
All that was good, all that was fair,
All that was me is gone.
I found a link to the musical version of the poem on u-tube. I think Stevenson would have liked the fact that his words are being sung by a Chinese community choir in New Jersey! He was a great traveller.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IoSG_eiIhBc&feature=related
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An excellent piece I too looked at this line , and had similar ideas how i would deal with it. I have to admit you managed it far better than i would have done.
Good luck in the contest
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