lie in rows as symmetrical
as platoons on parade.

an excellent comparison

Terri )O(

-----Original Message-----
From: The Pennine Poetry Works [mailto:[log in to unmask]]On
Behalf Of Sue Scalf
Sent: 13 March 2003 11:28
To: [log in to unmask]
Subject: new one: White Marble


White Marble

. . . . . .Thousands of American servicemen were buried in
   . . . . . .Britain ,their graves marked with white marble . . . . .. . ..
. . . . . .memorials.
. . . . . . Realm, The Magazine of Britain's History and Countryside


How many remember
where young men lie
who gave their lives
so blithely, who once smoked
their Luckies, drank their beer,
and dreamed of home.
Who remembers the bravado,
the swagger of uniforms,
handsome men flirting with girls
and thinking of stolen kisses.

Under the yew trees,
under the greensward,
under the moon and the spires
where the owl calls their names
in moldering churchyards,
alone with white marble
young men who are less than bones now,
lie in rows as symmetrical
as platoons on parade.

Buses whiz by, and tourists
take in thatched roofs, quaint shops,
write postcards,  in love with a land
damp and green with spring,
where hedgerows wind out of sight,
travelers on their way to a lodging
where they will take tea and cakes
where they will sleep only a night.

Sue Scalf