Sunday Remembrance : Our Fallen Poets

This year marks the First World War Centenary and all across the UK, tributes are being made, most notably the field of poppies at the Tower of London. It is a time to remember the men and woman who gave their lives in service to their nation during the wars of past, and to reflect on the wars of present that still rage in our world as we hope for a brighter and more peaceful future.

I also began to think back today of the poets, writers and artists, who through their various mediums were able to bring us stories in order that we lest forget and try to understand what life was like during war time. I remember when I was an 13 year old at school learning about soldiers and war writers/poets, Wilfred Owen and Siegfried Sasson. My wonderful English teacher Miss Branson who sadly is no longer with us, brought their works to life in her classroom and encouraged us to do the same by creating our own war poems. It was only when searching for files in a drawer yesterday on behalf of my father, that I came across the one I wrote at school. My father had kept it all these years and I shall treasure it always.

Below is a famous poem called ‘Dulce Et Decorum Est’ by Wilfred Owen. It was this poem that inspired me to write the poem above and was copied out alongside it at the time. Owen may have had a bleak view but it is an honest one. There is nothing glorious about war and dying and it somehow still begs the question “why do we take up arms when we know what results? “ . Today we remember, Yesterday we reflect, Tomorrow lest we forget.

Hx