We remember today,
to honour and thank
the lives given and dedicated
to preserving our right
to live happy and free,
not burdened by fright.
We remember their valour
their strength and salute them.
We name them by name
and acknowledge their selfless contribution.
We remember the sacrifices
all of them made
in leaving their families
to join the parade
of uniformed men
and women in arms,
to answer the call to
action and duty,
and stand up for their country
to defend what was right.
We wear the red poppy
that grew in the fields,
where only moments before
stood those promising young
men who had run despite
fear and confusion,
into the unknown,
for the sake of the future.
We remember the victims
who did not give their lives,
but whose lives were taken,
ruined,
and wasted.
Victims who suffered the atrocities of war:
the poisonous showers and experimentation;
the nuclear bombs;
the napalm fires.
Victims whose bodies
amidst chaos and hate
were brutally treated,
disgraced, maimed and raped.
We remember the veterans
cast aside by us all,
by the boomers and young ones,
unaffected by war.
We remember in order
to understand their ordeal,
the difficulty in surviving
with wounded bodies and minds.
We remember a generation without
which we’d be different,
lacking our current
advantages and freedoms.
We remember for reasons
countless, enduring.
We remember to prevent the same
from happening again,
by reminding ourselves
all that’s at stake.
But despite what some ignorant
may think or imply,
we in no way remember,
for remembering’s own sake.
The Kitchen Ink 