Yesterday Today Poem by Bill Smith

A few steps on
I turned to see
The silhouette
He saw in me
Sure enough
Twas’ quite a sight
To see silhouettes
In misty light
All the gears
Clicked into place
Millions of ghostly steps
Retraced
A distant hum
The only noise
I felt sadness
For those young boys
Maybe on a day
Such as this
They stepped into
Deaths abyss
Did those opposed?
On the other side
Believe the sight
Before their eyes
Row upon row
They marched to glory
But history would tell
A different story
Todays silhouettes
In the winter haze
Enjoyed the warmth
Of the suns rays
Did German eyes?
All those years ago
See boys or men?
Walking slow
When the guns
Shattered the peace
And millions fell
To their knees
Soldier boys
So young
So willing
Repayed more
Than the Kings shilling
Unlike silhouettes
Of days gone by
The ones before me
Not destined to die
The irony
Of the tale I tell
Of those young men
That fell
Who fought the war
To end all wars
But only found
Hells open jaws
This moor I walk
Oft’ resounds
To the sound of guns
Firing live rounds
When the red flag flies
WARNING DO NOT PASS
One must not stray
On the Ministry’s grass
Many a night
In the comfort of home
I look out
On the moors I roam
Night time flares
Shine high above
The open spaces
That I love
Somewhere up there
In the dark of night
Tomorrows heroes
Train to fight
As on my pillow
My head I lay
And pray their fate
Be not yesterdays
Too late are prayers
For those long gone
Forever their memory
Will soldier on

Cross upon cross
On foreign soil
Cannot prevent
The price of oil
Make old men
Use as toys
Another generation
Of young boys

And I in freedoms hard won prize
Walk on my way
Dry tears in my eyes