They disembarked in '45
And no one spoke and no one smiled
There were too many spaces in the line
They gathered at the Cenotaph
And all agreed with hands on heart
To sheath the sacrificial knives
But now she stands upon Southampton Dock
With her handkerchief and her summer frock
Clings to her wet body in the rain
In quiet desperation
Kuckles white against the slippery reins
She bravely waves the boys goodbye again
And still the dark stain spreads between
their shoulder blades
A mute reminder
of the poppy fields and graves
And when the fight was over
we spent what they had made
But in the bottom of our hearts
We felt the final cut
And no one spoke and no one smiled
There were too many spaces in the line
They gathered at the Cenotaph
And all agreed with hands on heart
To sheath the sacrificial knives
But now she stands upon Southampton Dock
With her handkerchief and her summer frock
Clings to her wet body in the rain
In quiet desperation
Kuckles white against the slippery reins
She bravely waves the boys goodbye again
And still the dark stain spreads between
their shoulder blades
A mute reminder
of the poppy fields and graves
And when the fight was over
we spent what they had made
But in the bottom of our hearts
We felt the final cut
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