Fertilizer Poem by Mike Smith

[...]Their faded dreams have sunk like stones Their service now forgotten Never will they know again[...] These lines are incredible Mike! ! I simply don't know if I should try to write about this poem or let it seep into my veins.. I would choose the later, but say that you are amongst my favourite poets in this site.. An incredible poem from a wonderful poet.. Tragedy has rarely been described in such a manner with such precision.. Breif and beautiful.. You got two big fans in Kelly and me mate.. Keep penning them down! !

Mike, you very kindly commented on one of the first batch of poems I posted in PH and I have belatedly got round to reading some of yours. This is a powerful piece. My late father was a POW in WW2 and kept a notebook of poems written by fellow POW's of the things they saw and went through. I would love to share them on here but of course I did not write them so cannot do so. Suffice to say they brought home to me things that him and I never talked about. I have transcribed them all and the original notebook is my most prized possession.

Nicely written poem. Great title. Powerful subject matter. I like how you broke your lines to bring added emphasis to specific words. Well done.

Powerful and Provoking, a brutal look at what it means to be a soldier, it seems harsh to look at it but in truth its what happens, after the 21 gun salute all you get is the eternal silence of a full like that could have been. This one definitely leaves a mark. Its interesting though that a soldier to survive they will always have a war still in their mind. Its a brave and great thing to serve a country more should be remembered then the politicians that wage their lives. A great read.

My whole family is military. I personally have two sons who served and are serving. thank God they did not suffer that ignominious fate. good one.

few of my kins became fertilizer ...thanks for sharing