Page 19 - eMuse Vol.9 No.04_Classical
P. 19
Little E
Little Emuse
muse
OUR POETRY KIDS
OUR POETR
Y KIDS
Featuring poems which were
highly commended in the Laura
with Br enda Jo y
with Brenda Joy
Literary Awards and the Ipswich
Poetry Feast, 2019.
THE LONE SOLDIER
by Caleb LeRoy
Hiding in a shell hole, far away from home
all his mates, killed by Johnny Turk THE POPPY TREE
now very much alone.
The night closes in, the sky painted black by Amaeh Reed
shells explode high in the air, like fireworks they crack.
Mud stains his uniform, sweat covers his face.
The battle long finished, death in its wake .
Young men never to be seen again For a thousand years it seems,
because of one man’s mistake I have stood in this very place and witnessed generations pass,
Two whole Brigades completely wiped out yet I remember every face. A boy so young, so long, long ago,
in this crazy landscape . too young to go to war would find respite beneath my leaves,
His body wounded and barely awake. far from the raging shore.
Hidden in scrub away from Jacko and Turks He was a lad from outback Australia,
clasping his gun thinking of the worst born in Ballarat A shearer’s son, hardworking,
Now trapped in this land. distinctive in his slouch hat But underneath his cheeky smile,
Back home awaits his wife, his eyes were dark with terror The booming of artillery shells,
thinking he’s another wasted life . shattered his peace forever.
Will he die there in the scrub on a dead Jacko He would rest under my sheltering branches, during the summer
or will he live to fight another day, day
or even get back home? But when his battalion stormed the trenches, he was swept awa
Just another eager young lad to be swept into war But I remember that lad’s eyes, softly,
into the firing line as the warm wind blows
in the infinite hell of Lone Pine. His death, a terrible tragedy, one of so many, God knows.
MY BEST FRIEND And when the war was over,
finally the guns to rest, and the world stood in stillness,
by Derek Zhu the sun sinking in the West, the rivers and the lakes wept silently,
in grief and sadness hearts breaking as they remembered
He is friendly the destruction and the madness.
he is thoughtful
we get along perfectly. Now, the grassy field below me,
He is my best friend. is no longer gentle, rolling green but red with a sea of poppies
that silently remember the scene . But one poppy I remember,
He plays with me in the distance, where the soft fields end, stands the poppy of my
he studies with me boy,
we have fun every day. stands the poppy of my friend.
He is my best friend.
The Poppy Tree pre-published www.ipswichpoetryfeast.com.au
He never upsets me
he has always been with me The Lone Soldier and My Best Friend
we never have a stressful day. pre-pre-published Laura Literary Awards 2019
He is my best friend. Featuring poems which were highly commended in the Laura
But now I have moved to another school Literary Awards and the Ipswich Poetry Feast, 2019.
we are not together every day.
I still miss him a lot
He is my best friend –
our friendship will never end.
April 2020 eMuse 19
