BLOOD ON THE SAND

A silence once again
Not the screams
Of boys and men,
Once more the peaceful land
Without crimson sea
And blood on the sand.
Bone, flesh and naked steel
Twisted and torn
The agony still real,
Stars and stripes and Union flags
Faced the storm an iron hail
Faceless corpses with dogtags.
Never forget them, freedoms fight
Salute these heroes
It's their right,
They laid down their lives
For our rights and liberty
Leaving grieving mothers and wives.
Row upon row of pearl white
Sombre, poignant and peaceful
Like doves of peace in flight,
Laid to rest in military order
The flotsam of a countrys might.
The sun rises day after day
To warm the children of war,
To dance and skip and play
These children play no more
Their souls long since flown away.
Boots once stepped on that foreign land
To restore peace and order,
The bullets flew, ain't war grand
The battles harvest tasted rain
With blood drenched, solemn sand.

Phil Hall  February 2014