ANZAC Day - The Remains

Today is ANZAC Day. This is for all those who served but is especially for my father.

Yesterday I foundWhat remains of him,Tucked away in a small cuff-link boxIn the back of a drawer,Forgotten.His dog tags,His Australia Service medal,His Returned From Active Service badge,

 And a glass eye. All that’s left of a soldierFelled in battle at BardiaAmid the fury, terror and deathOf a brutal war.Spared his life,But leaving one eye in the sandsAnd forsaking his sanityForever. 

Returning home,Self medicatingFor the next 50 yearsFleeing those demonsWho stowed awayIn his rucksackAnd haunted him,Taunted him,The rest of his days. Struggling to sootheInvisible woundsImpossible to heal,Unseen, except by himBut the impact felt By all around him. Now he sleepsWith his comrades-in-arms,As they comfort each otherThrough the long nights.Were he alive todayHe’d be 111. © Sadiechild April 25 2021