Friday, 30 September 2022

SIMPLICITY ITSELF: a poem about the war memorial in Lussan, Gard, southern France...

 Simplicity Itself…



It was the first specific memorial I had seen

And noted. And remembered.

Simplicity itself.

Sculpted for the French infantrymen

And the fallen of World War One…


He is understated, yet sadly serene,

With weary equipment unencumbered.

Simplicity itself.

Weathered for his fellow countrymen

And for every Lussan mother’s fallen son…


The bowed head beneath helmet carved from stone

And lean figure wrapped inside a greatcoat, alone,

Tells the sullen story of tragedy for an eternity.

And the serviceman’s portrayal is in itself simplicity…



Pete Ray

29th September 2022





Whenever I visit the beautiful village on a hill of Lussan, I have to spend time at the simple war memorial outside the Mairie… 



Made of stone, weathered but simple, it says it all, really…



Inside the Mairie there are also individual memorials to a number of local men who fought in the Great War…



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