SearchThis poem imagines what one of the young soldiers of Conisbrough (like the one portrayed in the Conisbrough War Memorial in the Article Image) might have thought when setting off to fight in the WWI.
The poem is based on the famous sonnet by Rupert Brooke, and is meant to be ironic, because the situation described in the third stanza is exactly what we’ve ended up with in England (sorry, the Airstrip One Region of the EU).
And laughter, learnt of friends; and gentleness,
In hearts at peace, under an English heaven.
RUPERT BROOKE
IF I should die, think only this of me:
That there's some corner of a foreign field
That is forever Conisbrough. It might not be
The finest town on earth, or that well-heeled,
But still, I call it home, and that is where
The heart is – as our Yorkshire wisdom says;
And that is why – I think – I’m going there:
To fight to save our homely Yorkshire ways.
We’d never stomach someone like the Kaiser
Ruling by diktat, treating us like fools,
Thinking the ways of government are wiser,
And making ever more oppressive rules.
I’m going to fight for what I most believe in:
Freedom and peace, under a Yorkshire heaven.
© Arthur, 2011. All rights reserved.
War MemorialBy : ArthurViews : 170 Rating
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