Dear Editor,
.
A Different Remembering
We couldn’t all come together this year,
So we remembered from the comfort of our homes
Those whose lives were lost in all the past wars,
Much bloodier, more terrible, than what we face
Today – alone, in family groups, and
In hospital beds across the globe.
.
Years, decades – a century ago! – our soldiers
Died in circumstances beyond our ability to recall,
Or conceive, so we could be free and
Live to remember now amid a silent plague
That comes invisibly, randomly and
Terrible enough to those who succumb, or fall.
.
We remembered around our flat-screen hearths –
Where normally we found news or other entertainment –
Those who died in trenches, fields and war-torn
Waters around the world. Some also fell “over there”
To plagues of disease that swept them away
While those at home wept their deep laments.
.
Today we stopped and gathered around the images
Reflecting on what they gave, by words, instruments and song;
We met to honour those who died by how we live.
A different kind of Remembrance Day –
But one that brought together those still here and free
To remember those who fought and all those who are gone.
.
James A (Jim) Sclater, Aldergrove
.
ALDERGROVE SERVICE: Aldergrove legion branch #265 commemorates Remembrance Day
.
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