{"id":18891,"date":"2019-08-16T08:29:21","date_gmt":"2019-08-16T07:29:21","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.memorialatpeninsula.org\/?p=18891"},"modified":"2019-08-20T04:30:57","modified_gmt":"2019-08-20T03:30:57","slug":"military-verses-by-clive-sanders","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.memorialatpeninsula.org\/?p=18891","title":{"rendered":"Military Verse by Clive Sanders"},"content":{"rendered":"

Clive Sanders<\/strong><\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

Military <\/strong>V<\/strong>erse<\/strong><\/p>\n

On sale in sale via Amazon https:\/\/www.amazon.com\/Military-Verse-Clive-Sanders-ebook\/dp\/B01GZ0JNQA<\/a><\/p>\n

\"\"

Clive Sanders, The Poet.<\/strong><\/p><\/div>\n

Clive joined the Royal Corps of Signals in 1965 as a Russian intercept operator and served as a soldier for 10 years, before leaving the Regular Army in 1975 to become a Civil Servant.<\/p>\n

He became a civilian lecturer who trained Royal Signals interceptors and was offered a commission in 1995 as a Royal Signals G2 Staff Officer, in which role, he continued to serve until I retired at the age of 65 years in 2012.<\/p>\n

He began writing my Military Verse in 2013 and found that there was a large audience for his poems.<\/p>\n

He recently was appointed Poetry Facilitator to the Royal Hospital, Chelsea, where he greatly enjoy`s working with the Chelsea Pensioners to tell their experiences in poetic form.<\/p>\n

THE TROUBLES<\/strong>
\nby Clive Sanders<\/strong><\/p>\n

None of us wanted to be there.
\nNone of us knew what to do.
\nWe`d not had a semblance of training.
\nWe felt we were hundreds to few.
\nPoliticians had sent us to Ulster,
\nAs a barrier between warring sides.
\nWe did not have a plan we could work to,
\nWe just had to man the divides.<\/p>\n

None knew how long we would be there,
\nNone would believe thirty years.
\nWe counted off days on our four months,
\nAnd tried not to show them our fears.
\nWe hadn`t been trained for street warfare,
\nSurrounded by hatred and strife.
\nWe worked to look after each other,
\nIn friendships that still last for life.<\/p>\n

We all lost good mates in the Troubles.
\nWe remember their names every year.
\nWhenever we meet at reunions,
\nWith memories of them always clear.
\nWe got no applause for our suffering.
\nWe carry our wounds with us still.
\nAnd now we have comrades arrested,
\nWhich to us is the bitterest of pill.
\n\u00a9<\/strong>copyright protected<\/p>\n

Unless You\u2019ve Been a Soldier<\/strong>
\nby Clive Sanders<\/strong><\/p>\n

Unless you\u2019ve been a soldier,
\nYou just won\u2019t understand.<\/p>\n

The things that we have seen and done,
\nIn the service of our land.<\/p>\n

We were trained to live in combat,
\nAnd to deal with dreadful sights,
\nThat shouldn\u2019t be seen by anyone
\nAnd keep you awake at nights.<\/p>\n

We don\u2019t discuss the wounds we have,
\nTo the body or the mind.<\/p>\n

We just put our hurts behind us,
\nAnd turn our memories blind.<\/p>\n

We are proud we served our country,
\nBut remember those we lost.<\/p>\n

For the freedom that you have today,
\nThey paid the awful cost.<\/p>\n

\u00a9<\/strong>Copyright Protected.<\/p>\n

Look Deep in the Eyes of a Soldier<\/strong>
\nby Clive Sanders<\/strong><\/p>\n

Look deep in the eyes of a soldier
\nAnd take note of all that you see.<\/p>\n

You will see lots of pride,
\nA degree of respect and a love for his family.<\/p>\n

You will also see humour and laughter,
\nAnd a hint of the joker inside,
\nAnd you\u2019ll also see signs of a gentleness,
\nEspecially when the eyes open wide.<\/p>\n

And if you stare deep in the pupils,
\nYou will see there\u2019s a steely resolve,
\nThat shows that once he\u2019s committed,
\nThere\u2019s no problem that he cannot solve.<\/p>\n

But if you look that little bit deeper,
\nPast the eyes that always seem glad,
\nYou will see little hints of the things that he\u2019s seen,
\nWhich occasionally make him feel sad.<\/p>\n

The things that he buries in the back of his mind;
\nThe things that he shouldn\u2019t have seen;
\nThe memories he prefers to remember blind,
\nOf the God-awful places he\u2019s been.<\/p>\n

So please understand the occasional tears,
\nAnd give all the support that you can,
\nFor the soldier will try to hide away fears,
\nBecause that\u2019s what makes him a man.<\/p>\n

Copyright Protected.<\/p>\n

A Soldier\u2019s Wallet<\/strong>
\nby Clive Sanders<\/strong><\/p>\n

If you look in a young soldier\u2019s wallet,
\nYou will see it is covered with stains.
\nIt will smell like a hyena\u2019s breakfast,
\nThat\u2019s been pulled from a number of drains.<\/p>\n

Then as soon as you open his wallet,
\nHis ID card is in the first sleeve.
\nIt carries the face of the soldier,
\nJust before he went on his first leave.<\/p>\n

He has numerous cards in his wallet,
\nThat help him feel rich and refined,
\nBut he doesn\u2019t pay bills using credit,
\nFor most have been rudely declined.<\/p>\n

There\u2019s a photo of his latest girlfriend,
\nAs she leans on her father\u2019s new car.
\nShe smiles as she looks in the camera,
\nWith her breasts standing proud of their bra.<\/p>\n

There isn\u2019t much cash in his wallet,
\nJust enough to ensure he gets drunk.
\nBut there won\u2019t be enough for a taxi,
\nOr to take him back home to his bunk.<\/p>\n

But there will be a lot of mementos,
\nOf adventures he has had in the past.
\nAnd there might be an old contraceptive,
\nJust in case he gets lucky at last.<\/p>\n

\u00a9<\/strong>Copyright Protected.<\/p>\n

The Old Man\u2019s Glass of Whisky<\/strong>
\nby Clive Sanders<\/strong><\/p>\n

The old man\u2019s glass of whisky
\nWas bigger than yesterday,
\nBut still far short of that required
\nTo chase the ghosts away.<\/p>\n

Last night he\u2019d dreamt of his best friend,
\nThat he so badly missed,
\nWho had stepped upon a landmine
\nAnd vanished in pink mist.<\/p>\n

The empties in his dustbin,
\nTold their own sad story,
\nOf just how much he had to drink,
\nTo drown out the cost of glory.<\/p>\n

His head was growing heavy,
\nAnd his eyes no longer saw,
\nBut his mind was full of painful scenes
\nOf the dreadful price of war.<\/p>\n

He was found by worried neighbours
\nHolding a bottle of cheap Scotch blend.
\nBut the smile on his face appeared to say
\nHe\u2019d rejoined his long lost friend.<\/p>\n

\u00a9Copyright Protected.<\/p>\n

I Have Lived Amongst Men<\/strong>
\nby Clive Sanders<\/strong><\/p>\n

I am honoured to say, I have lived amongst men,
\nWho have stood by my side, and would do again.<\/p>\n

We trained to be soldiers, we learned to be friends,
\nWe faced life together, all that fate ever sends.<\/p>\n

I was trained as a soldier, to be one of the best
\nI conquered my fears, and I passed every test.<\/p>\n

I was proud in their company, especially when,
\nWe stood shoulder to shoulder. I have lived amongst men.<\/p>\n

The men I called comrades, during all of those years,
\nShared my fun and my laughter, then my horror and tears.<\/p>\n

We were taught how to snarl, but we just looked half-crazed,
\nWe were cursed by by our foes, then occasionally praised.<\/p>\n

We fought for the causes, we believed to be good,
\nAs we held our positions and died where we stood.<\/p>\n

I rejoice in the memories, that I recall now and then,
\nFor I followed the code and I\u2019ve lived amongst men.<\/p>\n

\u00a9<\/strong>Copyright Protected.<\/p>\n

The Chelsea Pensioners <\/strong>
\nby Clive Sanders<\/strong><\/p>\n

You can see him most mornings, around quarter past ten,
\nMarching fast down King\u2019s Road, accompanied by Len.
\nThey set a fast pace as they stride down the road,
\nAge has not slowed them and they carry no load.<\/p>\n

At the corner they wheel like two spokes on a hub,
\nThen they slow to pathetic as they enter the Pub.
\nPainfully they limp across the bar to their seat,
\nHe asks what Len\u2019s drinking, which he know\u2019s \u201cWhisky, neat.\u201d<\/p>\n

At the bar when he\u2019s ordered, he counts cash from his purse,
\nAnd before he\u2019s done counting, up comes a nurse.
\n\u201cLet me pay for your drinks.\u201d the nurse gladly says,
\nAnd the Pensioner\u2019s grateful that the young lady pays.<\/p>\n

\u201cThank you my darling.\u201d says old Len with a smile,
\n\u201cThis is the first drink we\u2019ve had for quite a long while.\u201d
\nIn truth it was yesterday, at quarter past ten,
\nBut the nurse doesn\u2019t mind, she just likes these old men.<\/p>\n

For she watches them go through this routine each day,
\nThere is always some person who is happy to pay.
\nFor these old Chelsea Pensioners in their tunics so red,
\nHave a fan club that keeps them well watered and fed.<\/p>\n

And the stories they tell of their deeds long ago,
\nBefore most in the pub had not started to grow,
\nKeep the drinks going down, to a chorus of cheers,
\nAs the Pensioners reluctantly accept some more beers.<\/p>\n

At the end of the day, when the pub finally closes,
\nThe Pensioners come out and they follow their noses,
\nBack to the Hospital where they\u2019ve lived for some years,
\nAnd they plan their campaign for tomorrow\u2019s free beers.<\/p>\n

\u00a9<\/strong>Copyright Protected.<\/p>\n

You can always spot a Soldier<\/strong>
\nby Clive Sanders<\/strong><\/p>\n

You can always spot a soldier, even when he\u2019s not in kit,
\nBy the way he walks and the way he talks and the way he looks quite fit.<\/p>\n

Even when he\u2019s left the Army, you can quickly tell the man
\nWho has served his queen and country well, in every way he can.<\/p>\n

He will stand whenever the anthem\u2019s played, his chest puffed out with pride,
\nHe normally mixes with his old mates, who he has fought beside.<\/p>\n

He will easily cry at movies that show kids in distress,
\nAnd will make enormous efforts to clear away a mess.
\nBut there is one thing about him, which is loved by all he meets,
\nIt\u2019s the stories he can tell his friends of all his glorious feats.<\/p>\n

But when he sits with soldier friends and they recall a sortie
\nThe thing that sticks out most of all, is that they were sometimes naughty.<\/p>\n

For there\u2019s a scoundrel in his chuckle and a twinkle in his eye,
\nAnd a certain pride in the way he looks as he goes marching by.<\/p>\n

\u00a9<\/strong> Copyright Protected.<\/p>\n

A Special Thank You to Clive Sanders for sharing his Verses<\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

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