Shot at Dawn - a poem for Remembrance Sunday tomorrow!

Shot at Dawn. 11.11.2010.

Sixteen year old Herbert Burden

Lied about his age,

To fight for King and Country

Yet with his life he paid.

He saw his friends each massacred,

At the Battlefield of Bellwarde Ridge,

He bravely faced the firing squad,

Yet “officially” still under age.

Now tied firmly to the solid stake,

A white cloth pinned on his shirt,

A solitary Priest prayed for him

Loud came the order then to shoot.

God forgive those that metered out such “Justice”,

For those that fell asleep at their post,

Forgive those that refused to fight,

Or so terrified they just couldn’t cope.

Many so young paid the ultimate price,

Forgiveness will not bring them back.

They did their best for their Country

Of courage not one of them lacked.

Some refused to be blindfolded,

They stared down the barrels of those guns,

Guns that they knew would kill them,

Not cowards when all’s said and done.

Yet those standing today at the Cenotaph,

To pay respects to those now dead

In this year of Twenty-Ten,

There is much that needs to be said.

In 1914 they at least tried their best

For their Country and fellow man,

But “Today’s” Politicians with forked tongues speak

With no courage to say what they’ve done.

Others were shot for their fear of dying,

But their Country remained safe and free,

Now foreigners strut around and new laws make,

That have to be obeyed by you and me.

They deliberately gave away their Country

Bit by bit over air, land and sea,

Broken promises, shared ships, new Treaties,

Put in jeopardy-our Security.

But ‘ere the sun sets on this Country,

MP’s will come to know deep shame,

For those “Shot at Dawn” were far braver

For Crown and Country they never betrayed. by Anne Palmer