flowers shiver in the cold

willows bend

reeds wave in the pond 

summer is almost at its end.

gulls labour through the pinking mist

spots of cows on far hills

nibble on fields above the sea

small houses dot the hillsides

brilliant white,

emerging into clear, crisp sunlight.

wagtails hop

a cast of sea gulls lift into the air

then settle among the cows.

honking geese fly overhead

with questionable navigation.

their voiced heard

echoing against the cliffs of the sea.

  

© Wendy Smit-Taylor
2014  

Etched - Legacy

Letter to an unknown soldier

            it is an honor to be able to remember and thank all those that are no longer with us. 
           all gone, but they laid a legacy for us so that we can sit and write in peace, living in
           the kind of world that they laid down their lives for. it makes me terribly conscious of
           the responsibility that we have - to live good lives, and every so often - go out there 
          and clean our own doorstep! brush away the dirt of conflict, even when it comes in
          tiny little packages.

          http://www.1418now.org.uk/letter/wendy-smit-taylor/

Etched - Legacy.

Does the shattering of shells

bring peace...?

In the far, far distance

Thunders the echo’s of war.

Your chair is empty Charlie.

Your photo stands on the mantelpiece

Above the fire place;

Between the black clock

And the packet of playing cards,

All browned

With the stain of your fingers.

The mirror above the fireplace

Is as empty as your chair.

It does not catch your reflection,

It does not show it to me.

But if I look hard Charlie

I can see you

Engraved in its memory

Scratched in its glass;

Familiar lines

Cut somewhere deep inside,

As they are cut in me.

Deep inside.

Let us be your mirror Charlie

So that we will never forget your face;

Familiar to every generation,

Cut deep into the mirror-glass of our nation.

© Wendy Smit-Taylor

Letter to an Unknown Soldier

www.1418now.org.uk

LETTER TO AN UNKNOWN SOLDIER is a new kind of war memorial - one made entirely of words. Thousands of people wrote a letter to the unknown soldier to create this online memorial. Read this one, and thous

Letter to an unknown Soldier - 2014ands of others here.

Etched - Legacy.

Does the shattering of shells

bring peace...?

In the far, far distance

Thunders the echo’s of war.

Your chair is empty Charlie.

Your photo stands on the mantelpiece

Above the fire place;

Between the black clock

And the packet of playing cards,

All browned

With the stain of your fingers.

The mirror above the fireplace

Is as empty as your chair.

It does not catch your reflection,

It does not show it to me

But if I look hard Charlie

I can see you

Engraved in its memory

Scratched in its glass;

Familiar lines

Cut somewhere deep inside,

As they are cut in me.

Deep inside.

Let us be your mirror Charlie

So that we will never forget your face;

Familiar to every generation,

Cut deep into the mirror-glass of our nation.

© Wendy Smit-Taylor

Letter to an unknown Soldier - 2014