ABPA - Australian Bush Poets Association

Red

Red was the colour of courage, they said,
and men must show valour, or suffer instead.
Grey was the weather on that fateful day
when he said that fighting just wasn’t his way.
White was the feather they put in the mail…
they had him arrested and sent him to jail.
Black was the blood which they left on the floor…
they killed him in prison, for that was their law.
Red was the colour of one single rose
they found at his graveside…from whom, no-one knows.

© David 29/10/13

Ooooh - You know how to tug the heartstrings Mr Campbell

Beautiful writing - thank you

Nice David! Short and to the point - certainly does tug at the heart strings as Maureen said!

thanks

Dot

Thanks, Maureen and Dot. The issue of conscientious objection during the first world war seems to get pushed into the background, or ignored completely. Here's a quote from a much longer article about what happened in Britain:

"In all, more than 6,312 conscientious objectors were arrested; 5,970 were court-martialled and sent to prison, where they endured privations both mental and physical (819 spent over two years in prison). At least 73 COs died because of the harsh treatment they received; a number suffered long-term physical or mental illness."

Anyone interested can find the full article at: http://www.ppu.org.uk/learn/infodocs/co ... wwone.html

David