Not At The Parade Poem by Francis Duggan

The battle is over the war has been won
But the mother is left for to grieve for her son
Her brave son who died in the hard won victory
Him in the flesh she is never more to see
He died in a war zone from a bullet to the head
And his posthumous medal for bravery will not bring him back from the dead
On saturday she places fresh flowers on his grave
And to her little consolation to know he died brave
Thousands of people line the sidewalks of the big town
To watch the marching bands playing to honour the renown
Of the living war heroes and the brave who died
For love of their Nation's flag and National pride
And at the war memorial by a bugler the Last Post is played
But the grieving mother of one young dead hero is not at the parade.