WORLD WAR ONE POSTCARD: A NEW POEM...

Fight the Good Fight 1: First World War Postcard…

Smoke. There is smoke.

Black smoke. On grim hills.

And a priest.

Vestments as white as purity.

Random biplane climbs beyond:

Observing.

Uniforms. There are uniforms.

Brown uniforms. At ease. Armed.

And a priest.

Company granted surety.

Christ its strength and right. A bond:

Preserving.

Death. There looms death.

Cruel death. In trenches vile.

And a priest.

Last rites administered with pity.

Filth and fear haunt comrades fond:

Undeserving…

Pete Ray

February 2018

Bamforth’s ‘Fight the Good Fight’ postcard from the Hymn Series, World War One, number 1.

Published in Holmfirth, a town I know well…

Posed for propaganda, necessary for the war effort…

Sad.