Presiding Over Dale Churchyard…
(War Memorial, Dale, Pembrokeshire, Wales…)
He presides now with grave humility over Dale’s civilian dead,
A solemn reminder of those whose boots never would tread
Again the Pembrokeshire coast. At ease he stands, rifle ready to heft
In defence of the maimed, the bereaved and the bereft…
His solemn expression is one of depth of thought and regret
About the casualties, the missing and the slaughtered he would never forget.
His face, the uniform and even his moustache seem to be caked
In dried cloying trench mud, once stinking and slippery, now ghoulish and baked…
He presides in immortality, his cap is worn with pride still,
His sad eyes reflect the cruel irony of be killed or kill.
Behind him, a fractured shelled tree stump is a subtle indication
That not only humanity suffered in the Great War’s inane conflagration…
Pete Ray
1st May 2025…
A really thought provoking war memorial at Dale, Pembrokeshire, Wales…
BELOW...
Merged with images of my two grandfathers, who both fought in WW1 and survived, although I met neither of them...
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