Armed Forces

ARMED FORCES

There are many such as we
From distant past and long will be
Will be while ever hate endures
We are the arm that strikes the blow
that discord in Mankind ensures

We are the substance of your will
Who serve you for both good and ill
The difference 'twixt these two is fine
Our trust then rests with those in power
To know just where to draw the line

In peace few talk of noble cause
Yet noble deeds can give most pause
Times for valour may be quite rare
But troubles stir our hard won peace
And that is when we must be there

So, through our numbered, ordered days
We go our strange, nomadic ways
Time and the sort of life we lead
Divides us from your civil life
And we become a different breed

Surely, though, it would be trite
To see in us a stereotype
For we are all of mothers born
Cast from a mould we never were...
... more weathered to a common form

So should you look for our demise
In hope that war will never rise
Look for a movement spread worldwide
And seek a change in all Mankind
Then we can lay our Arms aside

Robert Plummer