Ghosts of War

E Alan Mackintosh

When you and I are buried With grasses over head, The memory of our fights will stand Above this bare and tortured land, We knew ere we were dead.

Though grasses grow at Vimy, And poppies at Messines, And in High Wood the children play, The craters and the graves will stay To show what things have been.

Though all be quiet in day-time, The night shall bring a change, And peasants walking home will see Shell-torn meadow and riven tree, And their own fields grown strange.

They shall hear live men crying, They shall see dead men lie, Shall hear the rattling Maxims fire, And by the broken twists of wire Gold flares light up the sky.

And in their new-built houses The frightened folk will see Pale bombers coming down the street, And hear the flurry of charging feet, And the crash of Victory.

This is our Earth baptizèd With the red wine of War. Horror and courage hand in hand Shall brood upon the stricken land In silence evermore.

Today’s Flickr photo with the most hits - the Moroccan Memorial on Vimy Ridge. 

Canadian forces eventually cleared the Germans from this escarpment, close to Arras, in a very significant battle in April 2017. 

Vimy Ridge

John Oxenham

Tread softly here! Go reverently and slow! Yea, let your soul go down upon its knees, And with bowed head, and heart abased, strive hard To grasp the future gain in this sore loss! For not one foot of this dank sod but drank Its surfeit of the blood of gallant men, Who, for their faith, their hope, — for Life and Liberty, Here made the sacrifice, — here gave their lives, And gave right willingly — for you and me. From this vast altar pile the souls of men Sped up to God in countless multitudes; On this grim cratered ridge they gave their all, And, giving, won The Peace of Heaven and Immortality. Our hearts go out to them in boundless gratitude; If ours — then God's; for His vast charity All sees, all knows, all comprehends — save bounds. He has repaid their sacrifice; — and we — ? God help us if we fail to pay our debt In fullest full and all unstintingly!

Today’s Flickr photo with the most hits - this photo of the Moroccan memorial at Vimy Ridge, France. Vimy is the site of a monumental battle in WWI. It is, perhaps, the Canadian army which is most associated with the battle: they see it as the ‘coming of age’ of Canada as a nation. 

The Soil at Vimy Ridge

Ines Fiedler

I am the soil at Vimy Ridge, Unchanging in my essence. I’ve been here since the soldiers left; Was here before their presence.

I have witnessed bloody battles, And a peaceful time before: A still and calm so beautiful Before the raging war.

I’ve felt the boots of twenty thousand March towards their slaughter, Sacrificing everything for Wives and sons and daughters.

I’ve heard the echoes of their cries, Free of arrogance or pride. Full of fear, yet they fought And for your freedom died.

I was watching when the fighting stopped And victory was declared. The Canadians proved themselves as more Than soldiers who were scared.

Now I hold twelve thousand markers, Of men who fought and fell My duty is to make sure that They rest forever well.

I am the soil at Vimy Ridge, A witness to the war, Some may say they’ve seen it all But I have seen much more.

Today’s Flickr photo with the most hits - this shot of the Canadian Monument on Vimy Ridge, France.

The Canadian Memorial, Vimy Ridge, France.

Today’s Flickr Photo -

A photo of the Moroccan Memorial at Vimy Ridge.