A British Heart

CATEGORY

life

Down beat the drummer’s hand to lead them on their way.
Faultlessly they marched in line, no single stride astray.
Immaculate from head to toe, this military perfection;
These highly polished men, today in personal reflection.
With heads held high, and shoulders back, they carried him with pride;
Their ally and their friend, who on the battlefield had died.

The English breeze caressed the air and dried the springtime dew;
As children watched in wonder at the draped red, white and blue.
He was just a boy himself, yet the job had made him older.
To most he was a fearsome sight, an armed and dangerous soldier.
But to his doting mother, who now numb forever more;
He’d always be her tender son, snatched from her by war.

The streets were lined with mourners: those he knew and had not met;
There to do their duty and whisper, “We shall not forget”.
He spent his life in service, to his Country, to his Queen;
He gave his life for freedom, a better future, now unseen.
The essence of a British heart: proud and brave and loyal;
Returning home to peaceful rest, within the British soil.