Dunkirk Evacuation
by Michael Romani

Trapped at the water's edge
Pushed to the continental ledge
Praying for deliverance
Barely hanging on through perseverance
Desperate for a needed miracle
Brave men pushed to edge of being hysterical

That what I saw my long lost friend
Hoping for a hope that God just didn't send
They have fought their very best
And in so doing had failed destiny's test
It was they could do to be there
As they got swallowed whole by their fear

Brave heroes pushed backward in flight
Only to see friends die before the fall of night
It was never supposed to be this way
On fallen, bended knees the boys did pray
To a man, they had fought to live to die
Another day; most of them never knowing why

To a man they were proud to serve and die
Knowing their mothers would sadly cry
All of this for God and for their country
And to keep their loved ones free
One day stories and songs would honor them
Those who would die at generals' whim

Memories would last of their breathless dedication
Crowded there at Dunkirk's bloody evacuation
There and then, a world brought to the brink
Cast into sorrow with not a moment to think
The soldiers fought until completely broken and done
There in the first days of a war that had only just begun

(c) March 10, 2018  Michael Romani
All Rights Reserved