Hi Sue,
This almost escaped, fell through the bottom of my computor. But I'm glad it
didn't. Technically I've only one thought... and that's the word
"greensward" which may be mega-archaic - even older than the thatched
coattages (and it feels just as twee!).
Moldering is an interesting word too... Are these graveyards well kept?
Bob
Ha! As an aside. I read a comment by Kaolin (as he pronounces it) Powell
saying "the only land the US wants in other countries is for graveyards for
its troops". An honest sentiment - Maybe he doesn't stay in any Hilton's,
doesn't inspect an US bases in the UK, or eat at any of our thousands of
Macdonalds or Kentuckey Fried Chickens!
>From: Sue Scalf <[log in to unmask]>
>Reply-To: The Pennine Poetry Works <[log in to unmask]>
>To: [log in to unmask]
>Subject: new one: White Marble
>Date: Thu, 13 Mar 2003 06:28:21 EST
>
>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
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