The Last Post Poem by Bryan Sefton

He was a retired Colonel
Spent all his life in the army
Spilled his blood on foreign shores
Men like him are barmy
That's what my Mum said

He walked as if he were on parade
Each movement precisely so
His look surveying regiments
Or keenly weighing up the foe
That stood around the bar

His sentences were to the point
His words came crisp and clear
So that there should be no mistakes
And the ones at the rear could hear
Some almost taking notes

Every night he left the bar
At precisely ten fifteen
Before he left he'd raise his glass
Saying 'gentlemen, the Queen! '
The domino players would rise

When he said 'Morning! ' to my dad
He almost gave salute
Dad's back would snap up ramrod straight
He'd look to check his boots
Wiping them on his pants

He didn't get to give his life
For country or for Queen
He slipped away so quiet like
As if he'd never been
He didn't want a fuss

They said he'd known for six straight years
That death was on the stairs
'Joe Cancer is an enemy
That takes no prisoner's
That's what the Butcher said

'The foe will sleep more peaceful now
Knowing that the Colonels gone
But little do the blighters know
There's more where he came from
That's what my Dad said