Farewell

Whilst at uni today, I saw a funeral for a local soldier, and paused for a minute. Seeing it really brought a lump to my throat and an ache to my heart. The Armed Forces and soldiers has always been a topic that is really close to my heart, but seeing a farewell to a local boy brought it that much closer to home. Hearing the gun salute was pretty emotional. When I finished my lecture and went back outside, everything - funeral, people, TV cameras - were gone. If I had not seen the funeral earlier, I would never have known anything had gone on in that spot. And it makes me think how many of these guys sacrifice their lives and die heroes, and so little people know what they actually go through and what they have done. It takes me back to the guys in WWI and II, and I think that if they had not fought as they had, we would be living in a very different world.

The funeral inspired me to write this, not just for Sapper Mellors, but for every other soldier as well:

As the final gunshot rings in his ears, it is the first of many sequences that will be set off.

The shouts. The explosion. The frenzy that breaks out amongst the watching. Comrades dragging him to safety. The examination. The proclamation. The death.

The mother watching from the window. The car pulls up. Heart stops. Doorbell rings. Words exchanged.

"I'm sorry ma'am."

A white gloved hand holds out the letter. The shocked silence. The grief. The wrenching sobs. The heart crying 'It can't be so!' The head saying 'He's gone', and knowing that somehow it's true.

A mother loses a son. Something inside her dies. No comfort.

The body flown in. The flag draped over. A country's pride. A country mourns. Comrades carry the body. Graven faces and open emotions. More than comrades. Friends. Brothers. A piece of them is missing.

Family and friends start to cry. The body is laid down. Words are said. Mother kisses the coffin, lays a rose and smooths the flag. The flag that called her son to arms. The flag is folded and handed to his mother. Final honours of red, white and blue.

Soldiers stand to attention. Silence.

Take arms. Fire.

Silence.

Take arms. Fire.

Silence.

Take arms. Fire.

Farewell.