Unknown Soldier Poem by Alf Hutchison

Unknown Soldier

Rating: 5.0


To the memory of all who have fallen in war.
At the going down of the sun,
And in the morning …we will remember them

UNKNOWN SOLDIER

“Where have all the soldiers gone, ”
“Gone to graveyards everyone; ”
Peter Seeger’s sung melodies...
A grieving mother’s sad memories.
Our mother’s sons gone to war,
Repeated untold times before,
Gone to fight for kith and kin,
Each mother’s heart broken within.
Waiting for that ‘gram’ to arrive,
Your son is not coming home alive;
'Your son is missing presumed dead',
That is how those telegrams read.
Now buried deep, so far from home
Beneath some foreign turf and loam.
A Bayoneted rifle marks the hamlet,
Atop the butt, a mangled helmet,
No ‘dog tags’, neck laced identity,
An unmarked grave… for eternity.

Where is the sanity of it all,
Where is the sense of it all,
“When will we ever learn,
When… will we ever learn.”
Alf Hutchison

COMMENTS OF THE POEM
Stephen Stirk 05 November 2009

A fine remembrance poem. Nothing can or will justify such loss, and such astonishing bravery as shown by our lads in both of the great wars. We must never forget those who ensured our freedom. They are the reason we are still here. Regards Steve

1 0 Reply
Omar Ibrahim 05 November 2009

we will never learn.........

1 0 Reply
Lynda Robson 06 November 2009

This touched my heart, and I agree with everything you say, when will we learn, and on Rememberance Sunday we will honour the dead and hope that wars will cease, Excellent 10 Lynda xx

1 0 Reply
Daniel Kempson 06 November 2009

Alf this is a fine poem and serves more than the ten I give, ex service man myself I know where you are coming from Daniel

1 0 Reply
Kerry O'Connor 01 November 2009

A poem like this can only stir up the memories and make us shudder to think it happens over and over again. Thanks for remembering the fallen soldiers.

0 0 Reply
Ritty Patnaik 14 November 2009

wars were fought for territory, agrandisement before, and now for ego countries fight.unless the concept of universal brotherhood does not set in wars will be fought, and mothers will lose their precious ones in the battlefields.your poem touches the core of the heart.great poem. ritty

3 0 Reply
Barbara Terry 08 November 2009

As long as there are greedy men who think their ideas are the best, and they can't take constructive criticisms, there will always be war. For me I wish there was no such thing as wars, guns, missiles, tanks, atomic bombs, nuclear fision, and other weapons of destruction. My favorite all time sci-fi movie is the original The Day The Earth Stood Still (1953, Michael Rennie, Patricia Neal, Sam Jaffe) . If everybody in the whole world were to follow the moral of that movie, this would be a wonderful planet to live on. But until men can come to some kind of understanding that war only devastates the innocent bystanders and shreds families by taking their young, there will always be conflict in the world somewhere, for some idiotic reason nobody can fathom. Your poem hits home for many of us who have family or had family in the military. I am happy to say that all 5 of them have come alive. Four of them were my uncles in WWII, and recently my nephew who was engaged in the Gulf War. He came home safe and sound. If you were to ask me why we have wars, see my first paragraph. This rates a 10+++++ and thank you for sharing. Love & hugs, Barbara

5 2 Reply
Ravi A 08 November 2009

Yes. War presents us unmarked tombs for eternity. Nobody realizes this fact. You have told the curses of war in a most touching way. I really appreciate you for telling the truth like this.

1 0 Reply
Luwi Habte 07 November 2009

Where is the sanity of it all, ... have no idea too heartfelt poem regards to u Alf luwi

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Meggie Gultiano 07 November 2009

When will we ever learn? I don't know, Alf..except to go ahead and be at peace with myself and to others. A heart wrenching piece.It did touched me very, very much. A great write..

1 0 Reply
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