Lest we Forget
A quarter of
a million underage young British soldiers
Fought in
World War One.
Each one,
one in a million – each one gone.
Journalists
arrested or outlawed at the front,
Threatened
with execution
For publishing
unpatriotic pollution.
Over a quarter of a million women working on the land,
An army in the landscape.
Each one, one in a million – a new role taking shape.
Nurses arrested and executed saving other’s lives.
Medicine in its early days,
Moving into another phase.
A million horses sent over to the trenches,
Mules and dogs on guard.
Each one, one in a million – a life that is scarred.
Objectors,
pacifists, those with different views.
Too old, too
young, or simply disinclined -
Labelled by
society - some heroes, some maligned.
Disabled,
grannies or mothers waiting for the news,
Scientists
and engineers expanding knowledge and the mind,
Shop-keepers,
farmers, all those who were left behind.
Over 37
million casualties – civilian or in uniform -
Statistics
are unclear.
Each one,
one in a million – but each one someone dear.
And dear the
cost to one and all
Will we ever
the lesson learn?
Do not
forget them, one and all
For each is
our concern.
By Linda Prince
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