A veteran stands and mourns
He’d found friends dead every morn
The war had been tragic
He’d barely survived
But the past wasn’t over now.
A veteran stands and mourns
About his present state
His life so changed
But so the same
His past haunts his every night
A veteran stands and mourns
War is not done with his life
He could kill in his sleep
So distance he keeps
Between himself and his beloved wife
A veteran stands and mourns
Remembering the past
Passing on a wealth of knowledge
His life is fading fast
A veteran stands and mourns
Holding firmly to the road
Telling tales of days gone by
Lifting the burning torch high
A veteran stands and quietly mourns
But no longer mourns alone
Image Description: A modern fighter jet flies across a cloudy grey sky. A World War Two plane painted in camouflage sits on the tarmac in the foreground.
I wrote this poem after a visit to the Canadian War Museum where I was honoured by meeting and hearing life stories from a veteran named Ted. Maybe it was that he shared the same name as my maternal grandfather, but I immediately felt a connection to him. His experiences during the war as well as the difficult journey of living with severe PTSD was heart wrenching. As today is Remembrance Day, I wanted to share this simple poem I wrote in honour of Ted.