Shipping clerks
Errand boys
Stevedovers
Railway porters
Grocer’s assistants
Postmen
Tramp, tramp, tramp
To ‘old tipperary’
‘pack up your troubles’
For
On a day bright and blue
When the whistle blew
Butchers
Bakers
In a shabby line
With no exceptions
Tasted the cold stars of night
And the flame of hope
Blew out.
For
Under a sky bright and blue
‘dead men can advance no further’
Shop workers
Waiters
A lost generation.
———
Written for Poetry Jam – Tribute
This year is the one hundredth anniversary of the start of the Great War –
‘For our tomorrow they gave their today’.
Life From A Park Bench 
This is a wonderful and moving tribute to all the anonymous men who died during The Great War. They really did come from all walks of life and had no idea what their lives on the front were going to be like.
“Tasted the cold stars of night / And the flame of hope /Blew out.” – beautiful lines, Alan!
Alan, this poem gave me the chills….it so very strongly moved me. You have captured a concept here that brought the tragedy of the Great War home. Bravo for stunning writing.
Such a massacre of millions of young ordinary folk which achieved nothing. Very well expressed. You captured the futility – when the whistle blew the guns were behind them and in the front as well- A terrible scandalous waste of life!
A fitting tribute to the extraordinary souls coming from all walks of life….
mmm stilling…s many ordinary guys…and you never know what they would have gone on and done as well….sucha sad loss of far too many lives….
a lovely tribute, Alan
Such a moving tribute to those warriors who gave their lives. So well done.
You may have already guessed I really hate the whole idea of wars–safe leaders sending the young and anonymous out to die. This is a lovely tribute, but there must be a better way to settle our world’s disagreements.
A beautiful tribute. Though I’d much rather not have wars, sometimes they are unavoidable and necessary.
A much needed tribute to all those who have gone selflessly to war . Protecting our freedoms- helping others become free. thank you.
So many lost to war!! Beautiful tribute 🙂
This piece really resonated with me. There has been a lot of sacrifice to war in my family – a lot of heartache.
There is no better tribute then to the men and women who serve this country
Alan, you did a great job of putting the real faces on those who sacrificed everything for us all. So senseless. A beautiful tribute.
This poem captures the cold and cruel of war with a effective and precise language. Really enjoyed it. I like the title, what Gertrude Stein used to use for the 20s American poets who have had to relive this in words and real world.