Recent Additions    & Updates Contact author Revealed: an unknown soldier of Ypres Old Allies honoured on Remembrance Day Great War veterans lead Cenotaph march past The youngest casualty Unveiling of plaque to Capt Bruce Bairnsfather Limited edition Bruce Bairnsfather postcard issued First-hand stories by surviving US veterans Story with a happy ending... News Clips 2001-3 Survivor of first world war dies at 108 Evening whispers on the Somme (poem) Scotland's oldest man turns 107 The Soldier's Sweetheart New Writing by new writers Memorial Gates Trust Search the site Private William McBride Buried far from the battlefield Private Sydney Bone Unusual or intriguing war memorials The Accrington Pals Amazon Bookstore Site Information Contents FAQ Contact Author   Resources Index of Poems Newsclips 2001 Further Reading Notes & Queries Can you help Useful links original content © 2002

A Letter to the Dead
by R.L.Barth (1985)

The outpost trench is deep with mud tonight.
Cold with the mountain winds and two week's rain,
I watch the concertina The starlight-
Scope hums, and rats assault the bunkers again.

You watch with me: Owen, Blunden, Sassoon.
Through sentry duty, everything you meant
Thickens to fear of nights without a moon.
War's war. We are, my friends, no different.

Poetry Contents Page