It's been twenty one years since I fired a gun in anger. But I still remember them, and wonder where they are now. Mad Harry opened up a pub. De Villiers went back to being a butcher. My German mate was in the company plane when it flew into the mountain, long after the war. Blackie Swart died of a heart attack. The rest. I just don't know...
These stark men
Who have not yet celebrated
Their coming of age.
Whose carefree years have been pickpocketed
Out of their lives.
Who have lost the carelessness of youth.
Gained the callousness of Death’s companions
- Chas Lotter
3 comments:
I am going to scan a pic of me from then, I was young innocent and unscarred. Thank you PW for turning me into a man.
Yep. So what do I tell my son when he says he wants to go to the army one day?
[Whose carefree years have been pickpocketed
Out of their lives.]
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=byCCmBwRjGw
I've never fought in a war, never lost someone in it.. but it strikes a chord deep within me.. On one level there is the obvious injustice, the futility of life, the bastards who send boys to their death.. on another, less obvious level, it reminds me of children growing up too fast as a result of circumstance, whether it be war, famine, poverty, abuse..
*sigh*
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