Pretty Polly
Say goodbye to Pretty Polly
The lass from the Co-op store
She went and joined the Army
And they sent her off to War
Off to far Afghanistan
To set the people free
Pretty Polly’s was blown up
By a roadside I.E.D.
The armour saved her physically
But mentally she was gone
Stuck there in a time warp
Wasn’t able to move on.
They didn’t just desert her
The counsellors really tried
But out there in Afghanistan
Some part of her had died.
But Pretty Polly was a soldier
And a soldier’s life is cheap
So they gave her a War Pension
And out on the scrap heap.
Pretty Polly didn’t moan
And Pretty Polly didn’t whine
She had after all voluntarily
Signed on the dotted line.
She slept rough in the woods
Bivvying on open ground
Alert and awakened by
Every single little sound.
Sat on a shop doorsteep
For hours every single day
Until the police or the council
Finally moved her on her way.
They found her in a wood
Hanging from a rope
Pretty Polly it seems
Had finally lost all hope.
Just another Veteran
Who chose to end life like that
They bore Standards at her funeral
The coffin bore her Dress Hat.
The Padre told her story
The family held a wake
Some of her Regiment came
Just for old times sake
To saygoodbye to Pretty Polly
The lass from the Co-op store
Just another senseless victim
Of another senseless war.
Copyright © Terry Ireland | Year Posted 2022
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