England Expects...

England Expects…too much!

 

June 11^th 1915…
Celebrating June 11^th 1904
Too young you were to wed,
    Some said
And him – ten years on

But eyes only for each other

A love as true as any
Wrought by bards and poets
Or sung in songs of romance

Little Benjamin was the first

Eighteen months on;
Followed by Flo and Danny,
We lost Rebecca, poor mite

Celebrating I am

Smiling as my guts
Twist and turn;
Was it as bad as this
    in 1904?

Celebrating I am,

Up early, 4.30am
Watching, waiting for the big push.
Nervous about meeting my new bride –
Sister death and her bridesmaids –
Maimed and wounded

Celebrating I am
Being once on the brink of heaven
Now on the edge of hell.


© Gordon Banks June 1993