Thursday 11 November 2021

At The Cenotaph

 Lest we forget,


At The Cenotaph

I saw the Prince of Darkness, with his Staff,


Standing bare-headed by the Cenotaph:


Unostentatious and respectful, there


He stood, and offered up the following prayer.


'Make them forget, O Lord, what this Memorial


Means; their discredited ideas revive;


Breed new belief that War is purgatorial


Proof of the pride and power of being alive;


Men's biologic urge to readjust


The Map of Europe, Lord of Hosts, increase;


Lift up their hearts in large destructive lust;


And crown their heads with blind vindictive Peace.'


The Prince of Darkness to the Cenotaph


Bowed. As he walked away I heard him laugh

by Siegfried Sassoon