They disembarked in ’45
And no one spoke and no one smiled
There were too many spaces in the line
They gathered at the Cenotaph
And all agreed with hands on heart
To sheath the sacrificial knives
But now she stands upon Southampton Dock
With her handkerchief and her summer frock
Clings to her wet body in the rain
In quiet desperation
Kuckles white against the slippery reins
She bravely waves the boys goodbye again
And still the dark stain spreads between
their shoulder blades
A mute reminder
of the poppy fields and graves
And when the fight was over
we spent what they had made
But in the bottom of our hearts
We felt the final cut
TWO SUNS IN THE SUNSET
In my rear view mirror
The sun is going down
Sinking behind bridges in the road
And I think of all the good things
That we have left undone
And I suffer premonitions
Confirm suspicions
Of the holocaust to come
The rusty wire that holds the cork
That keeps the anger in
Gives way and suddenly
It’s day again
The sun is in the east
Even though the day is done
Two suns in the sunset
Could be the human race is run
Like the moment when the brakes lock
And you slide towards the big truck
You stretch the frozen moment with your fear
And you’ll never hear their voices
And you’ll never see their faces
You have no recourse to the law anymore
And as the windshield melts
My tears evaporate
Leaving only charcoal to defend
Finally I understand
The feelings of the few
Ashes and diamonds
Foe and friend
We were all equal in the end