Sometimes it’s the simplest titles…
Socks
Shining pins that dart and click
In the fireside’s sheltered peace
Check the thoughts that cluster thick –
20 plain and then decrease
He was brave – well, so was I –
Keen and merry, but his lip
Quivered when he said good-bye –
Purl the seam-stitch, purl
and slip.
Never used to living rough,
Lots of things he’d got to learn;
Wonder if he’s warm enough –
Knit 2, catch 2, knit 1,
turn.
Hark! The paper-boys again!
Whish that shout could be suppressed;
Keeps one always on the strain –
Knit off 9, and slip the
rest.
Wonder if he’s fighting now,
What he’s done and where he’s been;
He’ll come out on top, somehow –
Slip 1, knit 2, purl 14.
With Veteran’s Day coming up next week, I thought I’d delve into
some of my books on various wars and conflicts. The above poem is taken from a
beautiful collection I discovered at a book store once. Called, A Corner of a Foreign Field: The Illustrated
Poetry of the First World War, the poems were selected by Fiona Waters and
illustrated with photos from the Daily
Mail, it is a heart-wrenching tribute to all caught up in the war – from
the soldiers in the trenches to the wives, sweethearts and children left
behind.
Some books I can highly recommend:
All Quiet on the Western
Front by Erich Maria Remarque.
Following the Drum: The
Lives of Army Wives and Daughters Past and Present
by Annabel Venning, Headline Book Publishing, 2005.
A Corner of a ForeignField: The Illustrated Poetry of the First World War by Fiona Waters, Transatlantic Press, 2007.
