Remembering
As the first chime of the 11th hour of the 11th Day of the 11th Month is heard across the world,
a respectful silence exists amongst the guardians of this planet
Remembering each and every breath of those who marched to war
in pursuit of a freedom treasured above all
Remembering how they marched knowing this would be a freedom they were likely never to see
Remembering the horrors that faced them in combat
which our age of warfare can hardly comprehend
as they so often looked into the eyes of the other as their last breath was taken
Remembering the steely determination of the Women left behind
whose role in life was changed forever
Remembering the faces of children and mothers
as some, just babes in arms, were given up to take refuge
far far away from the never-ending onslaught of bombs which dropped indiscriminately on their homes
Remembering the personal sacrifices in every aspect of life
from dusk till dawn
and the Home Guard the often unsung heroes
Remembering the Resistance in all its forms
Remembering the fallen, the breaths that were heard no more
matched only by the broken hearts of those who received the unspoken news
Remembering the dawn breaking in Compiegne in 1918
within a Wagon both sides faced each other
to bring about Armistice which brought an end to the bloodiest of wars
Remembering those who lost their lives in the unfathomable period
between the signing of the document and the time declared to bring an end to the destruction
Remembering finally the need to hold in our hearts and minds
the overriding freedoms
that were fought for ought to be upheld in perpetuity
in the face of all who seek to erode them