A Yearly Trip

                                                                      A YEARLY TRIP

An old man sitting on a train

Making his yearly remembrance trip

Getting annoyed by noisy kids

Trying hard to bite his lip

Their language is harsh and curse

You'd never hear that in his day

If his dad had heard hi swear

A strap would come his way

Drinking cans begin to fly

And sandwich wrappers too

If the youth of today could only understand

What his generation had went through

Finally he's had enough

And asks them please to stop

They just look at him and giggle

But the noise it doesn't drop

Now his voice grew louder

"Are you deaf as well as dumb"

One of them gets in his face

The old mans legs went numb

"Now listen here Grandad

I'll put you in a home"

His eyes were red and angry

His mouth was spitting foam

"You don't scare me sunshine

Not after what I've seen

I've fought for King and Country

And it's fields of purest green"

They look at him with doubting eyes

As if they think he does jest

He opens up his jacket

To show a row of medals on his chest

"Now each medal tells a story

A one of death and love

Death for dear friends I've lost

Love sent up above"

One by one phones switched off

Books were put away

The whole carriage now silent

To hear what he had to say

You could have heard a pin drop

As the tales he began to tell

The unruly kids they listened

The adults did as well

The rest of the journey passed so peacefully

Many a tear filled eye was seen

Brought on by a veterans memoreis

As he fought for England's fields of green