At the Foot of the Unknown Soldier

At the foot of the unknown soldier I heard them speak about the past The generation born after the war I heard them sing of warfare Like children recite rhymes I heard their threats of war Even from lands abroad I heard them talk about Fighting to the last man As though they knew The pain of a mother letting her son Go to fight for the fatherland Or the anguish of comrades Falling to foes in battle And embarking on lonely journeys Into immortal provinces The generation born after the surrender Speak of fanning the embers of war And lacing the drums hung for decades They say war is the only path to freedom Unknown to them that Men fall like cattle in battle Where rifles rattle in senseless rage And men long to return home to Laugh with families and neighbours for The gory sight of blood and torn flesh Is not worth the hopeless glory The commanders seek It is not a tale for one’s children So, when I heard them say the ended war Needed to be revived because One clan lays claim to perpetuity I knew they were oblivious that Those who started the war Were absentee members of platoons Whose children mounted no wagon Destined for the warfront Where helpless soldiers turn to dust While the new generation yet spoke I heard the voices of many unknown soldiers On both sides of the fraternal war Echo from unmarked graves on the battlefield I heard them ask if the war was a good cause I heard them ask if any side won the war I heard them ask if we won freedom I heard them ask if they were given Heroes’ burials with the band playing I heard them ask if those who started the war Were now satisfied and cared for their kith I heard them ask if they had not died in vain And if this generation knew not the woes of war.