The Unknown Soldier
Click here to hear the author read his words:
The Great Peace
The pain surprises me.
The rain falls steadily, but it is not the cause of the pain.
The wind blows briskly, but it is not the cause of the pain.
I look around the small cemetery, one out of around 940 in France and Belgium.
It is the cause of my pain.
It contains the graves of 1262 British, 4 Canadian and 29 German soldiers and airmen.
There is no segregation by rank or nationality, and each grave is immaculately tended.
They are arranged in chronological order of death.
Think about that, just for a moment.
The peace is in sharp contrast to those bloody days 100 years ago.
The days when this part of Northern France was the world’s battlefield, bringing men from all parts of the planet to die here.
The Great War.
I almost smile at the oxymoron.
But find I cannot.
Because of the tears in my eyes and the lump in my throat.
the great war they said
was the war to end all wars
flowers grow in tears
anelephantcant 
This was painful. Wars are still on and there is even a nuclear-war like situation in some parts of the world. looks like there is no end to it…
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Lovely to see you here again.
Sorry it’s such a painful post.
Thank you for your comments, always thoughtful.
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Heart wrenching poem Pinky (C.E). The war to end all wars indeed — a phrase said, but not reality in any sense. Experiencing this through the speakers perspectives really provides ambience and the feeling of really being there. “Flowers grow in tears” — perhaps hope within the memory of a century old travisty. Reminds me of the famed war poem here “In Flanders Fields the poppies grow/ Between the crosses row on row . . .” Hope you are doing well.
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It was a heart-wrenching experience, Amanda, and one which I’ll never forget.
But I had forgotten that John McCrae was a Canadian, thank you for reminding me of that beautiful piece of writing.
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And flowers Grow even in the midst of the lies we tell ourselves.
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And continue to tell more than 100 years later.
Thank you for visiting, Joseph
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My pleasure! Thanks for sharing!
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