Stone Angels Poem by Dewald Viljoen

' Stone angels are found all over the world, standing at the head of fallen soldiers graves. This is poem is for all those soldiers, you are not forgotten.'

Behind old, rusting gates.
Between a congregation of long sealed fates.
This night, beneath a starless sky
where once great warriors sleep,
I saw a stone angel weep

In cold, damp nights.
At dark, bloodied battle sites.
This night, beneath a full moons' light,
between young mens' shattered dreams,
I listened to stone angel screams.

Through a young man's courage,
because of a corpsman's triage,
This night, in my fathers' land,
as a broken mother cries,
I heard a thousand stone angel sighs.

Under hostile fire,
Behind rusted barb wire,
This night, beneath tracers' thundering reign
while longing lovers dream emotional,
I saw a stone angel sentinel.

In bright city light,
or dark jungle nights,
This night, beneath a strangers' stars,
while lonely babies sleep,
I pray for the guard, that stone angels keep.

Behind an old, rusting gate,
erected neither in love nor hate,
This night, when old mothers weep
at marble feet, where heroes keep,
I realised, the stone angels never sleep.

1996