Full Time is Called

This poem was first conceived when the last man who played football during the Christmas Truce(1914) passed away in 2005. they are waiting in heaven for him to start the game again.

Full time is called at last
The final player is no more.
All the ghosts of no man's land 
Will celebrate the final score.
The last man leaves his mortal 
Shell to walk on heavens shore,
Where old friends and former foe 
Wait to play the game once more.

The field is ruled with poppies red,
The ball as golden as the sun.
Death's ditch is lined with eidleweiss
And Angels sing, The New Jerusalem,
To celebrate that glorius day
When they layed down bayonet and gun,
And ran upon a no man's land
To play once more for fun.

Reviews

[Pete Langley]

The drive to fight is tiring on man`s soul, isn`t it? We all need a rest from time to time - then is when the finer side of human nature rears it`s head. Unfortunately, not often enough. Well done. P.

[Marie]

Excellent. I know little about football or this particular story, but the poem breathes...

[Jack Dawkins]

Thank you.

[Renée]

Oh my heart this one touches deeply !! I know this story and it screams with so many voices of true peace and those above them saying kill... I have been trying to figure out a way of capturing this...but I don't need to now... You did that moment great justice, I love the visions that you set before our eyes..of hope..thank you for sharing this !

[Jack Dawkins]

Thank you Renee that is a touching review on it's own. I'm a newbie and still feeling my way around but I promise to pop by and visit real soon.

[Renée]

Oh it was my pleasure & Welcome ! that story captured my heart the first time I learned of it ! .. enjoy the site and read what want, when you want.. I reviewed your work because I wanted to ( :

[Samuel Dickens]

Both lyrically and in message, this is quite a gem. As much as mankind seems doomed to destroy himself, there are occassional glimpses of hope.

[Jack Dawkins]

Thank you for the comment. I wrote this so long ago I almost forgot about it, until I was doing some maintenance on my poetry blog today and decided to post it here.

[Samuel Dickens]

You're very welcome. Sometimes folks dig deep into my vault and surprise me with a read. It's good to look back at our work from time to time.