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In their blood a nation raised

Before the yellow sun
tips the blade of long grass
Gently waving in the hand
Of not yet morning,
but not yet light

cliffs shimmer and shiver
of a memories journey
through offerings of life
cast in the utter horror
of the bloody
berth of a nation
Trembling deep earth ...

A lone poppy now stands firm

Before the silent throng
begins our Anzac morning dirge
I will stand in contemplation
Of the sacrifice made
In your blood

it is stained, tears rolled the page

Men, boys made into soldiers
fell, from great heights
to none, their red mourning
Lines each and every page

In giving all our tomorrow's
from their stolen life of light,
In a battle we were forever saved
as we tasted the iron badge
of defeat ...

This was the insanity of an age
long past, but still felt deep
far into the Never Never

God bless the Anzac spirit
in their blood a nation raised

a lone trumpet sings reveille
we mourn in perpetuity
their sacrifice never forgotten
this is a debt we can never repay

This was the birth of national identity
chasms of valleys hold their blood
so that we may walkabout

Free ...

----

Written in memory
on the morning
Of 25th April 2015

Jayne Eggins ©

Style / type: 
Free verse
Review Request (Intensity): 
I want the raw truth, feel free to knock me on my back
Last few words: 
This is my first poem for a while I've not been very well but today on the anniversary of the terrible battle at Anzac Cove I felt compelled ... no actually driven was the right word ...but I have four more years to watch their story unfold and be retold ... my goal is to write a whole series of poems and to write from the view of all sides but as you know to tell a story well and with conviction you have to know your subject matter obviously I know our side of the story but that of the Ottoman Empire that's another story ... and I'm far from happy with this yet but its a start with some help I aim to improve this ...
Editing stage: 

Comments

Bravo! you continue to amaze me ..i liked this...even more after reading what you wrote "In last Few Words"

Good to see you back and posting..Take best care...

Much love and hugs,

raj (sublime_ocean)

Lovely to see you here, I know this is a special subject for the hearts of the people that remember those that gave us what we have today,
(But young lady we wish to see many more of your writes in the future, so you make sure you are well enough to do so, or I will smack your fingers.)
The soldiers there at that horrible place gave their all, as you say for us to walk today.
I cannot forget those men and many others that gave all, as a generation of my family were involved in that war, my Father at this time was in Egypt, and one of my uncles was in Palestine, not so far away, He sleeps in Jerusalem.
Strange that the war then in 1914 - 1918 involved my family more than any other.
I remember them, Yours as always Ian xxx

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Unconditional love to you all.
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Yours as always, Ian.T, Sparrow, and Yenti

Sorry to hear you're still not up to full speed. I'll have to read up on the battle before being much help but in the first stanza the last two lines seem to say the same thing. I think you're trying to describe that short interlude between fading night and full daylight. Maybe something like :
of fading night
but not yet light...............dang! that even makes a rhyme which could add a bit of extra impact to the stanza............Hope you get better soon..........stan

this, to me is a poem with a powerfuI message. going to check on the story behind it.

Alid

beginning to understand this mourning , and freedom fighting, though without war there can be no peace

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