White Flag Over Stanley Poem by David Harris

From the safety of our homes,
we watch with baited breath,
the TV reports nightly,
as the task force moved away.
Brave men,
some whom would never come back again,
lined the decks.
Through a cruel sea,
to a crueller climate,
the ships of the Royal Navy sped.
Valiant were their objectives.
Peace bringing to a troubled land.
But, peace through blood shed.

The night was cold;
a snow fell on the ground.
Through the wilderness,
of flares and gunfire,
three groups move forward,
to set an invader running
and a white flag to wave in the air.
A flag to symbolise defeat.
A cheer from the victors,
shrugged shoulders from the vanquished.
There is no glory,
with the wasting of young lives,
no matter what the side.


14 June 1982