Poetry of War

[Tom Houlihan]

NO MAN'S LAND (THE GREEN FIELDS OF FRANCE)
Eric Bogle

Well how do you do, young Willie McBride,
Do you mind if I sit here down by your graveside
And rest for a while 'neath the warm summer sun
I've been working all day and I'm nearly done.
I see by your gravestone you were only nineteen
When you joined the dead heroes of nineteen-sixteen.
I hope you died well and I hope you died clean
Or Willie McBride, was it slow and obscene.

Chorus :
Did they beat the drum slowly, did they play the fife lowly,
Did they sound the dead-march as they lowered you down.
Did the bugles play the Last Post and chorus,
Did the pipes play the 'Flooers o' the Forest'.

And did you leave a wife or a sweetheart behind
In some faithful heart is your memory enshrined
Although you died back there in nineteen-sixteen
In that faithful heart are you ever nineteen
Or are you a stranger without even a name
Enclosed and forgotten behind the glass frame
In a old photograph, torn and battered and stained
And faded to yellow in a brown leather frame.

The sun now it shines on the green fields of France
The warm summer breeze makes the red poppies dance
And look how the sun shines from under the clouds
There's no gas, no barbed wire, there's no guns firing now
But here in this graveyard it's still no-man's-land
The countless white crosses stand mute in the sand
To man's blind indifference to his fellow man
To a whole generaation that were butchered and damned.

Now young Willie McBride I can't help but wonder why
Do all those who lie here know why they died
And did they believe when they answered the cause
Did they really believe that this war would end wars
Well the sorrow, the suffering, the glory, the pain
The killing and dying was all done in vain
For young Willie McBride it all happened again
And again, and again, and again, and again.

There are several versions of this song. I've heard a couple, and my favorite is surprisingly the Dropkick Murphy's rendition. Others have different favorites. Anyway you hear it, it wrenches the heart.

[Trish]

~~~ POETRY OF WAR ~~~
[ a wide variety of poems relating to warfare throughout the ages ]

Please post your own new poems about War [ or war-related subjects ] in here?
Or post your favourite War poems [or song Lyrics] by other poets.
[ and classic poems from all the ages of warfare are welcome in here.]

And please post LINKS to special poetry sites and other poems?
--
If you are posting an old poem, please give full credit to the writer, and also giving us the year it was written [if you know?] would be most interesting aswell.
--
Here is one I wrote since I became a member here:

~~~ Curse of the Tigers ~~~

Among the roar of their smoking engines
and the grating rattle of spinning tracks.
The steel Tigers prowl surging forwards
billowing clouds of dust from their backs.

They ride with menace past tall cornfields gold
like grim hunting 'Beasts', mighty and bold.
Big steel 'Lances' point ahead like Knights of old:
long barrels hide deadly tales waiting to be told.

Dark shapes are spotted moving near the horizon.
Targets for eager gunners to keep their eyes on.
They engage the enemy with determined desire:
metal 'Dragons' belch forth loud thunder and fire.

Barrels recoil and discharge their piercing load.
In the distance, Tank targets are seen to explode.
Spreading hot seeds of doom all along the road:
in their wake only death and havoc are sowed.

Only the tracked lines torn through corn and hay
prove which armoured 'devils' have charged this way.
Wrecks burn and smoulder all along their smoky path
as the stalking 'monsters' seek to vent more dire wrath.

As the clouds clear again, on this long battle day
Tanks are desperate to find and slaughter more prey.
Suddenly they scatter! Seeking trees and Town:
trying to flee the swift 'Warbirds' screaming down.

Tigers are now prey to the one thing they fear:
hunting 'Hawks' pumping cannon through tank roof and rear.
Vengeance is swift, then the 'vultures' swirl away.
Few Tank crew crawl home, dripping blood all the way.

For today it is over, the savage battle with no name.
But tomorrow more victims will play out the same deadly game.
~~~~~
[ poem by Lily Von Blitz - c.2008.

A serious poetic view of the savage power and grim bleakness of battle in WW2.]
--
TO ALL READERS: if you liked this poem then please let me know?
Positive feedback may encourage and inspire me to write more.

Great poem, Lily & I wish I was so poetic. The poem I know is "In Flanders Fields" written by a fellow Canadian & sure gets straight to the heart.

Make a great day.

Cheers

Trish

[gi-rene]

And here is a couple of Nice lyrics (basically poems) by one of me Favorite bands!

Aces High
Steve Harris
There goes the siren that warns of the air raid
Then comes the sound of the guns sending flak
Out for the scramble we've got to get airborne
Got to get up for the coming attack.

Jump in the cockpit and start up the engines
Remove all the wheel blocks theres no time to waste
Gathering speed as we head down the runway
Gotta get airborne before its too late.

Running, scrambling, flying
Rolling, turning, diving, going in again
Run, live to fly, fly to live, do or die
Run, live to fly, fly to live. aces high.

Move in to fire at the mainstream of bombers
Let off a sharp burst and then turn away
Roll over, spin round and come in behind them
Move to their blindsides and firing again.

Bandits at 8 o'clock move in behind us
Ten me-109s out of the sun
Ascending and turning our spitfires to face them
Heading straight for them I press down my guns

Rolling, turning, diving
Rolling, turning, diving, going in again
Run, live to fly, fly to live, do or die
Run, live to fly, fly to live, aces high.

And a Tribute to the "Noble Six Hundred" (Charge of the Light Brigade)
The Trooper
Steve Harris
You take my life but I'll take yours too
You'll fire you musket but I'll run you through
So when your waiting for the next attack
You'd better stand there's no turning back

The bugle sounds as the charge begins
But on this battlefield no one wins
The smell of acrid smoke and horse's breath
As I plunge into a certain death

The horse, he sweats with fear, we break to run
The mighty roar of the Russian guns
And as we race towards the human wall
The screams of pain as my comrades fall

We hurdle bodies that lay on the ground
And the Russians fire another round
We get so near yet so far away
We won't live to fight another day

We get so close near enough to fight
When a Russian gets me in his sights
He pulls the trigger and I feel the blow
A burst of rounds take my horse below

And as I lay there gazing at the sky
My body's numb and my throat is dry
And as I lay forgotten and alone
Without a tear I draw my parting groan

Well put together videos:




And from the same band

"The Longest Day"


In the gloom the gathering storm abates
In the ships gimlet eyes await
The call to arms to hammer at the gates
To blow them wide throw evil to its fate

All summers long the drill to build the machine
To turn men from flesh and blood to steel
From paper soldiers to bodies on the beach
From summer sands to Armageddon's reach

Overlord, your master not your god
The enemy coast dawning grey with scud
These wretched souls puking, shaking fear
To take a bullet for those who sent them here

The world's alight, the cliffs erupt in flame
No escape, remorseless shrapnel rains
Drowning men no chance for a warriors fate
A choking death, enter hell's gates

Sliding we go, only fear on our side
To the edge of the wire
And we rush with the tide
All the water is red
With the blood of the dead
Although I'm still alive, pray to God I survive

How long on this longest day
'Til we finally make it through
How long on this longest day
'Til we finally make it through
How long on this longest day
'Til we finally make it through
How long on this longest day
'Til we finally make it through

The rising dead, faces bloated torn
They are relieved, the living wait their turn
Your number's up, the bullet's got your name
You still go on, to hell and back again

Valhalla waits, valkyries rise and fall
The warrior tombs lie open for us all
A ghostly hand reaches through the veil
Blood and sand, we will prevail

Sliding we go, only fear on our side
To the edge of the wire
And we rush with the tide
Oh the water is red
With the blood of the dead
But I'm still alive, pray to God I survive

How long on this longest day
'Til we finally make it through
How long on this longest day
'Til we finally make it through
How long on this longest day
'Til we finally make it through
How long on this longest day
'Til we finally make it through


How long on this longest day
'Til we finally make it through
How long on this longest day
'Til we finally make it through
How long on this longest day
'Til we finally make it through
How long on this longest day
'Til we finally make it through

Yeah... I'm a lyrical sort

[Lily Von Blitz]

~~~ Curse of the Tigers ~~~
...
[ poem by Lily Von Blitz - c.2008.

Great poem, Lily & I wish I was so poetic. The poem I know is "In Flanders Fields" written by a fellow Canadian & sure gets straight to the heart.
Make a great day.
Cheers Trish

Hi Trish,
thankyou very much for your nice comments.
So glad that my new poem entertained you well.
your support has warmed my poetic heart, and will encourage me to write more [when i get time] .

it's very nice to hear from another lady on these fine forums.
let me know if you ever need to borrow the contents of my handbag? [ there are some very useful stuff in there...aswell as the Mauser pistol ]

best wishes.

[Lily Von Blitz]

--- '1916' --- [ song lyrics ]

16 years old when I went to war,
To fight for a land fit for heroes,
God on my side,and a gun in my hand,
Counting my days down to zero,

And I marched and I fought
and I bled And I died
And I never did get any older,
But I knew at the time,
That a year in the line,
Is a long enough life for a soldier.

We all volunteered,
And we wrote down our names,
And we added two years to our ages,
Eager for life
and ahead of the game,
Ready for history's pages,

And we fought and we brawled
And we whored 'til we stood,
Ten thousand shoulder to shoulder,
A thirst for the Hun,
We were food for the gun,
and that's What you are when you're soldiers.

I heard my friend cry,
And he sank to his knees,
coughing blood As he screamed for his mother.
And I fell by his, side,
And that's how we died,
Clinging like kids to each other.

And I lay in the mud
And the guts and the blood,
And I wept as his body grew colder.
And I called for my mother
And she never came,
Though it wasn't my fault
And I wasn't to blame,
The day not half over
And ten thousand slain,
and now There's nobody
remembers our names.
...And that's how it is for a soldier.
---
by Motorhead.

This song is so beautiful and so tragic.
it brings a tear to my eyes every time I hear it.
[ it is not a rock song. it is just violins and strings in haunting beauty.
Any non-fan would never expect this from Motorhead. ]
--
[ i am a big Motorhead fan, and i love lots of other rock music. but i also like a wide variety of other music aswell. ]
----
TO ALL posters: what a wonderful variety of poems and lyrics in here.
many thanks for sharing your faves.
this thread is so interesting, emotional, and very informative.
--- more please? ---

[Wustenfuchs]

On March 17, 1945 Tadamichi Kuribayashi, fifth generation samurai and commander of the Japanese forces defending Iwo Jima, wrote and telegraphed 3 poems. This is the 3rd poem, delivered shortly before his death.


Ada utade nobe ni wa kuchiji
ware wa mata natabi umarete hoko wo toramuzo

Foe unvanquished, I won't perish in the field;
I'll be born again, to take up the halberd seven more times.

---Tadamichi Kuribayashi (1945)

[PanzerBob]

Excellent thread idea Lily BRAVO ZULU



Bob out

[RAF Liberators]

It's called freedom of speech, he isn't trying to rewrite history he's just writing lyrics about something that could of happened in an alternative world. Hell if we listened to half of the propoganda that came out of today's governments should we also get upset about that and start banning them from making speeches?
I don't see anything wrong with Roddoss's poem about what could of happened, he's not glorifying war or Nazism in my opinion. We all lost relatives and friends in the war (even if we didn't know them) and not all of them were on the same side as ours. Now is the time to be looking at our own problems though.

[cyberia]

Roddoss72, please check you PMs.

[cyberia]

It's called freedom of speech, he isn't trying to rewrite history he's just writing lyrics about something that could of happened in an alternative world. Hell if we listened to half of the propoganda that came out of today's governments should we also get upset about that and start banning them from making speeches?
I don't see anything wrong with Roddoss's poem about what could of happened, he's not glorifying war or Nazism in my opinion. We all lost relatives and friends in the war (even if we didn't know them) and not all of them were on the same side as ours. Now is the time to be looking at our own problems though.

Sorry RAF but after reading the poem, then taking the matter under advisement, I have removed it and all posts reproducing it from this thread.

In the opinion of the moderating staff the line was crossed.