The Shed Poem by John a'Beckett

There was a helmet in the shed-
I didn’t know what meant-
along with garden tools
that Dad had kept
perhaps as monument,
reminder of his dead
mates in New Guinea
“Fifteen of us would go out
into jungle- the Japanese
and big-fist Rats-
were waiting in the trees-
and only five come back.
But, for the moment, that’s
enough of that”, he said
“- it’s time for tea”

It was potting round that lead
me to it— kid curiosity-
when it fell, near-hit me
stubborn on the head. I saw
the faded Melbourne Herald
headline print gone brown
announcing War. Dad
didn’t use it for the fires
of all the barbeques he had
for friends, unless flames
lit up as funeral pyres
in dedication to his dead
mates in New Guinea
“Some even drowned-
enough of that” – he said
“- it’s time for tea”