Sunday Best

SUNDAY BEST or A Soldier’s Coup of Grace Was always smartest one in his brigade A pride in his appearance was consistent Though beach at Dunkirk was no church parade Standards upheld with doggedness persistent In desert waste - Tobruk and Alamein Those baggy shorts and boots held little chic Where swelter sweat and dust became his bane Endured fear, blood and missiles’ deafening shriek Then tide of war reversed, Allies stirred might Breached Norman coast, and footslogged across France Reached German border, victory in sight When single bullet halted his advance And then at last he'd time to spruce and rest At peace, and laid out in his Sunday best