In remembrance...

I Do Not Know Your Name

I do not know your name, but I know you died 

I do not know from where you came, but I know you died 

Your uniform, branch of service, it matters not to me 

Whether Volunteer or Conscript, or how it came to be 

That politicians' failures, or some power-mad ambition 

Brought you too soon to your death, in the name of any nation 

You saw, you felt, you knew full well, as friend and foe were taken 

By bloody death, that your life too, was forfeit and forsaken 

Yet on you went and fought and died, in your close and private hell 

For Mate or Pal or Regiment and memories never to tell 

It was for each other, through shot and shell, the madness you endured 

Side by side, through wound and pain, and comradeship assured 

No family ties, or bloodline link, could match that bond of friend 

Who shared the horror and kept on going, at last until the end 

We cannot know, we were not there, it's beyond our comprehension 

To know the toll that battle brings, of resolute intention 

To carry on, day by day, for all you loved and hoped for 

To live in peace a happy life, away from bloody war 

For far too many, no long life ahead, free of struggle and pain and the gun 

And we must remember the price that was paid, by each and every one 

Regardless of views, opinions aside, no matter how each of us sees it 

They were there and I cannot forget, even though I did not live it 

I do not know your name, but I know you died 

I do not know from where you came, but I know you died.

Kenny Martin