Chain poetry written by the BA Class of 2026
Wrapped in the flag of courage,
And medals hung, tears run down,
As the mother bids adieu.
The clothes return, covered in the smell of
ration supplies, trench life, and mostly in blood,
some his own and of his friends and foes.
Memories bear these scars, bittersweet,
Memories that chuckle once,
then trickle down to tears.
Love, my love, my heart lies buried with you.
Somewhere a boy wrote to a mother:
“Landmine has taken my legs,
Taken my arms, taken my senses,
I cannot live, I cannot die,
Damned to live life in a lake of fire”
He’d never see age.
Somewhere a scream, a soul that left,
Come Monday! I fill my heart with regret.
(Why did i send him off?)
Suffering, pain, grief, blood.
Does it end?
Orphaned and barren, though once whole.
The worst nightmare came true, its hue was
marred with hints of red, black, and blue.
Silence, echoes and ashes
carried with pride and sorrow.
But might all these sacrifices return,
A joy? A sorrow? I doubt!
Children memorize sounds of death before lullabies,
Abandoned and displaced, they lie in wait.
Mourning for solace amidst this respect,
Pride is the only light in this darkness.
Such is the futility of war,
It comes and takes,
Leaving nothing but despair and destruction.
Yet morning still arrives quietly placing –
Its cold hands on those who must learn to live again.
Starts with a roar and ends with a deafening quiet,
History calls it victory, graves call it a lie.