BACKGROUND:
Remembrance Day marks the end of fighting on the Western Front on November the 11th, 1918. At the time, the anniversary was known as Armistice Day, in reference to the formal agreement the German leaders signed to end the war.

The name was changed to Remembrance Day after World War 2 ended in 1945. It has since become a day to remember the service and the sacrifice of all of those who have died since World War One.

POEM:
I spent some time at dawn today on the headland bare.

I paid respect in my own way and offered up a prayer.
I thought of all those young men who had fought to keep us free.
And but for the grace of God I thought that could have once been me.

There were many battles that they fought simply to keep us free.
The life we live and breathe each day just could never be.
Without the horrors they went through on which we cannot put a price.
I think of those who gave their lives the ultimate sacrifice.

The waves crashed on the beach below. The wind brought an eerie chill.
I bowed my head in silent prayer as time seemingly stood still.
I tried to place myself beneath the sun's first amber glow,
but could not imagine what they felt when the cry rang out to go.

How can we ever thank them? Every father, son and boy.
For the life we live today and the freedoms we enjoy.
They will never be forgotten. Their memories are etched in time,
Some taken from their families while still to reach their prime.

So I will stand and just say thank you for the sacrifice they made.
They would feel so insufficient for those lives with which they paid.
I'll think of them when the Last Post sounds with their ever-thinning ranks.
And though it sounds so little in return, I'll simply just say thanks.
© 2023 Bob Pacey – Bush Poet

They shall not grow old, as we that are left grow old. Age shall not weary them, nor the years condemn at the going down of the sun and in the morning. We will remember them…

Lest we forget.