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i’ll wear a black brassard
for the fragile soldiers
sold for sums untold
in summary trenches
gracious gravediggers toiled
with all their might
proud uniforms
sullied and soiled
on far-off beaches
brave white-faced boys
would shout and scream
grazed knees dealt with
by a pat an’ a peck
an’ a hug from mum
now new playmates unseen
beckon and tug unseemly
tossing sharper shells
and harder slugs
like shooting stars
suns overhead shine far
too bright tonight a handful
of centimes or shillings
pockets of poems and posies
ragged rhymes run red
a glance at a tattered tryst
in the wan moonlight
bleeding purple prose
war’s joys were an oversight
they dance and holler
big brash trumpets’ fodder
brave bold sons so young
with souls of gold so old
fold up the letter
let it fall love foiled
get back to their toys
mum’s watching from above
but the darkness
is deafening alright

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