Poem from my upcoming Poetry Collection "Crossroads"
Caption: Tony and June Stewart April 1975
Red Poppy
I bought a red poppy
in the main street the other day
The Band Played Waltzing Matilda
clouds my mind. Bogle’s lyrics
entwined in mum’s
recollections, ANZACs hover
in a history of sadness
naive boys marching
lambs to the slaughter.
She melds memories
images and history. A baptism
of fire for our fledgling nation
allied warships
off the Dardanelles
fused with footage of
Indonesian navy ships
off the coast of Timor
abandoned Portuguese colony.
The Shrine rises from shadows
of World War 1 but it is
country town monuments
that fill her with pathos
empathy for other mothers.
In her mind the quote
from Ataturk, her son
and East Timor all merge
“You the mothers wipe away your tears; your sons
are now lying in our bosom and are in peace.”
