Anzac Day Recollections

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Irene
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Anzac Day Recollections

Post by Irene » Mon Nov 01, 2010 1:06 am

Anzac Day Recollections
© I.Conner 20/02/07

Another ANZAC day is here,
another year gone by.
Another time to ask again
Oh why, my Lord, why I?
In nineteen ten, we had three sons
all young, and fit and keen.
Three growing lads we loved so much –
no hatred they had seen.

They were but simple country boys,
they loved life on the farm.
We’d raised them with a guiding hand
and kept them safe from harm.
But four years on, the call went out –
our country went to war.
Our quiet life was shattered then
and peace we knew no more.

All three took up the call to arms.
I begged them not to go.
But they would serve their country now,
their courage they would show.
Their dad and I – we worked all day.
We had a farm to run.
We struggled hard to hide our fear
beneath the aussie sun.

But underneath the silv’ry moon,
beneath the stars so bright,
the fear would riot through my head –
I’d see my boys in fight.
I’d hear the sound of bullet rain,
the pounding cannon roar,
I’d smell the fear of boys that died
while fighting in our war.

One day there came a telegram
and this is what it said
‘We’re sorry to inform you that
your loving son is dead”
He died upon the battlefield,
a hero to his mate.
My heart was broken on that day,
the day I learnt to hate.

I felt the pain that parents feel
when they cannot control
the things that put their child at risk -
it eats into your soul.
Their dad - he struggled hard to cope,
the road was just too hard.
One day he simply fell apart,
his mind forever scarred.

Our youngest, he survived the war,
but not without a cost.
Along with wounds that scarred his legs,
his hearing he has lost.
Our other son, our eldest boy
was sent to Suvla Bay.
Each night he sees again the sights
he witnessed on that day.

In sleep he hears the screams of men,
he sees the sightless eyes.
In sleep he feels the fear again,
and every night he cries.
To war we lost our middle son -
he lies on foreign land
But we have lost much more than that –
I hope you understand.

We lost that year our innocence,
our freedom and our joy.
We lost the chance to sleep in peace
the year we lost our boy.
They said that time would dull the grief,
that soon we’d feel again,
but thirty years have passed on by
and still we hold the pain.

The casualties of war, they say,
are those that passed away,
and those who suffered injury –
for these we’ll always pray.
But don’t forget the families
who waited for their men,
please say a prayer for them as well
as April comes again.
What goes around, comes around.

Heather

Re: Anzac Day Recollections

Post by Heather » Mon Nov 01, 2010 10:41 am

Very well put Irene. It often happened that several sons joined up. It must have been a nerve racking time for the families. I have two families in our family history that had three sons join. One family had three boys join on the one day - they lost one son. The other family lost two sons and a fourth son was about to join when the war finished.

Heather

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thestoryteller
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Joined: Mon Nov 22, 2010 3:02 pm
Location: Bargara, Queensland.
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Re: Anzac Day Recollections

Post by thestoryteller » Tue Jun 14, 2016 8:23 am

It always sad Irene that by April each year there are now added souls to remember
as mankind somewhere on this planet still sacrifice their children to wars.

Enjoyed the read.


Merv.
Some days your the pidgeon and other days the statue.

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