written and posted by members of Lancashire Dead Good Poets' Society

Monday 14 November 2011

In Wootton Bassett.

07:38:00 Posted by Shaun 6 comments
Morning all,

The theme this week is War Poetry. Having a think about this and all the emotions related to it on a weekend like the last, I've had a dig through my old notebook for something I thought could be appropriate today. The poem below is one of my earliest pieces written to perform at DGPS. I still like it now (give or take a tweak maybe) and so, as Wootton Bassett itself comes around to the idea of not being on the repatriation route, I felt it was worth a post. Enjoy.

In Wootton Bassett.

For the homesick heroic who soldiered on
and died in the flash of a roadside bomb
they gather and the church bell cries.

For those who'll never now speak the truth
and the anguish felt by our uniformed youth
they gather, as the cars pass by.

For those posted out at just turned eighteen
as finely tuned fighting and killing machines
they gather, and yet another son dies.

For once fragile, corroded, now unloaded minds
that stood and fought and gave their lives
they gather, in any weather.

And for husbands and fathers returning from war
paying the price of so many before
they gather, and forever, we will remember them.



PS I think there is a video of this on the DGPS facebook page. I'll edit the link in later.

Thanks for reading, S.

6 comments:

Lara Clayton said...

Here is the link to the video:
https://www.facebook.com/video/video.php?v=1200056875528

I've always loved this poem :)

Lindsay said...

I remember this being read at DGPS. A very moving poem, and yes very apt now that Wooton Basset ceases to be that route.

Christo Heyworth said...

What fascinates me is how a response in the minds of one or two people can grow and grow if it strikes a chord with many more of us, and eventually result in the place where it occurs with the award of Royal (Wooton Basset) status.
Thanks for the reminder, Shaun.
As the Blackpool Regiment in WWII was mainly posted to Singapore and ended up as prisoners of the Japanese, I'll look out the poem I wrote in their honour, and that of their comrades.

Ashley Lister said...

Shaun,

Good writing.But Lara's link takes us through to a fat bloke reading your poem :-)

Ash

Lara Clayton said...

Ash,
It's scary how much weight he's lost, isn't it? I hardly recognise him :)

Anyone who didn't know Shaun before he turned vegan will be extremely puzzled by the link.

j said...

As long as it is the vegan diet and not someone who has touched him and whispered 'thinner'...