Poems

=Poems=

**Murder-So Foul**
//I shot a man yesterday// //And much to my surprise,// //The strangest thing happened to me// //I began to cry.//

//He was so young, so very young// //And Fear was in his eyes,// //He had left his home in Germany// //And came to Holland to die//

//And what about his Family// //were they not praying for him?// //Thank God they couldn't see their son// //And the man that had murdered him.//

//I knelt beside him// //And held his hand--// //I begged his forgiveness// //Did he understand?//

//It was the War// //And he was the enemy// //If I hadn't shot him// //He would have shot me.//

//I saw he was dying// //And I called him "Brother"// //But he gasped out one word// //And that word was "Mother."//

//I shot a man yesterday// //And much to my surprise// //A part of me died with Him// //When Death came to close// //His eyes.//

**High Flight** Oh! I have slipped the surly bonds of Earth and danced the skies on laughter-silvered wings; Sunward I've climbed, and joined the tumbling mirth of Sun-split clouds,-and done a hundred things You have not dreamed of-wheeled and soared And swung high in the sunlit silence. Hov'ring there,I've chased the shouting wind along, and flung my eager craft through footless halls of air....   Up, up the long, delirious, burning blue I've topped the wind-swept heights with easy grace Where never lark nor ever eagle flew-and, while with silent lifting mind I've trod the high untrespassed sanctity of space, put out my hand, and touched the face of God John G. Magee  (On September 3 1941)

**Normandy **
A million men wait anxiously, Knowing not what the decision will be. More and more the tension grows.... 'Ike' finally decides it's time to go.

The date is June 6th, nineteen forty four, A day we have long been waiting for. A thousand ships stretch across the sea, And have gathered here, at Normandy.

The coast of France looks a little forlorn. The Germans are not aware of the approaching storm. <span style="font-family: 'Bookman Old Style','serif'; font-size: 16px;">Suddenly, bombs and rockets light up the dawn, <span style="font-family: 'Bookman Old Style','serif'; font-size: 16px;">Night turns to day...and the invasion is on.

<span style="font-family: 'Bookman Old Style','serif'; font-size: 16px;">From far at sea, comes a tremendous roar, <span style="font-family: 'Bookman Old Style','serif'; font-size: 16px;">As men of war bombard the shore. <span style="font-family: 'Bookman Old Style','serif'; font-size: 16px;">The Fuehrer is awakened with an urgent plea, <span style="font-family: 'Bookman Old Style','serif'; font-size: 16px;">'We are under attack...emergency...the invasion is here... <span style="font-family: 'Bookman Old Style','serif'; font-size: 16px;">It's Normandy! '

<span style="font-family: 'Bookman Old Style','serif'; font-size: 16px;">Reinforcements are dispatched, but with much delay. <span style="font-family: 'Bookman Old Style','serif'; font-size: 16px;">The invasion was expected at Calais. <span style="font-family: 'Bookman Old Style','serif'; font-size: 16px;">The German defenders bravely stand their ground, <span style="font-family: 'Bookman Old Style','serif'; font-size: 16px;">Matching our assault round for round.

<span style="font-family: 'Bookman Old Style','serif'; font-size: 16px;">The situation is critical on Omaha beach, <span style="font-family: 'Bookman Old Style','serif'; font-size: 16px;">The enemy line we have failed to breach. <span style="font-family: 'Bookman Old Style','serif'; font-size: 16px;">The battle rages throughout the day. <span style="font-family: 'Bookman Old Style','serif'; font-size: 16px;">Men die and men pray... <span style="font-family: 'Bookman Old Style','serif'; font-size: 16px;">Praying for deliverance to live through the day.

<span style="font-family: 'Bookman Old Style','serif'; font-size: 16px;">Normandy beachhead is finally secure, <span style="font-family: 'Bookman Old Style','serif'; font-size: 16px;">Too many bombs and shells for the enemy to endure. <span style="font-family: 'Bookman Old Style','serif'; font-size: 16px;">The battle for Normandy, we had to win, <span style="font-family: 'Bookman Old Style','serif'; font-size: 16px;">To achieve final victory in Berlin.

//<span style="font-family: 'Bookman Old Style','serif'; font-size: 16px;">G.W.Lemon //

**[Title]**
The life that I have Is all that I have And the life that I have Is yours

The love that I have Of the life that I have Is yours and yours and yours

A sleep I shall have A rest I shall have Yet death will be but a pause

For the peace of my years In the long green grass Will be yours and yours And yours

//[Author]//

**Bloody War - The Cause**
<span style="font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; text-decoration: none;">When greed sups with the devil <span style="font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; text-decoration: none;">And principles are shed <span style="font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; text-decoration: none;">When power is corrupted <span style="font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; text-decoration: none;">And truth stands on its head <span style="font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; text-decoration: none;">When fear pervades the confused mind <span style="font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; text-decoration: none;">And fools are easy led <span style="font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; text-decoration: none;">When reason is a prisoner <span style="font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; text-decoration: none;">The bell tolls for the dead.

<span style="font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">Tom Walker

<span style="font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">**Yes, We Remember**
On Normandy's green fields where the hedgerows still run and the sands on the beaches lie quiet as air; on the bluffs stand the cross and the star white and pure; the flag of our fathers flies high in the wind.

The battlefields calling, are seen by a few who have traveled so far,to set down their memories for buddies they've loved.

And each waning day, as the sea mourns alone, the soft sound of Taps flows over the fields, saying yes, we remember, the brave deeds you've done, we remember your faces eternally young.

//John Kent//

**An Irish Airman Foresees His Death**
I know that I shall meet my fate Somewhere among the clouds above; Those that I fight I do not hate, Those that I guard I do not love; My county is Kiltartan Cross, My countrymen Kiltartan's poor, No likely end could bring them loss Or leave them happier than before. Nor law, nor duty bade me fight, Nor public men, nor cheering crowds, A lonely impulse of delight Drove to this tumult in the clouds; The years to come seemed waste of breath, A waste of breath the years behind In balance with this life, this death.

//W.B. Yeats//