V.E.Day, by Adrian McRobb

Dead soldiers lie still in ditches
broken buildings broken windows
orphaned children in uncaring homes
barbed wire and concrete teeth

Victory in Europe...scorched earth
parades and clinking medals
shiny shoes march in parody
tide still washing bodies
paid their ferryman
with dreams of life

Tell those with fly filled mouths
how we bravely fought
Brylcreem and perms
in dancehalls...

Dover's blue birds
starvation ration
egg powder
and Vera Lynn

Unmarked graves like confetti
at cruelties wedding
mass graves, unwanted humanity
more unremarked
damp basements rusting chairs
past nail pulling
furtive fleeing men hiding
lost art discovered
in a siding

Victory!