The Unknown Soldier
The Unknown Soldier
I am the Unknown Soldier and you’re standing on my grave
but please don't confuse me with one considered brave.
I was eighteen years old when I answered the call,
went over the top and one of the first to fall.
I didn't die a hero, indeed an inglorious death.
Calling out for my mother took my dying breath.
The bravest thing that I have ever done
is to tell my story in the shadow of the gun.
They took me from that foreign field where I met my doom
Scraped me into a box and brought me to this tomb
I have been on parade for a hundred years
Politicians and puppets and crocodile tears
The self-same people who determined my fate
blending ceremoniously with the good and the great
Their faces overcome by unmeasurable grief
I grin and bare it as I listen underneath
They say we are heroes for our lives we gave
but there is no hero laying within this grave
and I must confess it's through gritted teeth
I watch them come forward to lay their wreath.
The humble poppy from those fields of green,
a symbolic emblem turned money machine.
To our fallen soldiers for whom we cried for
contradicting the values they thought they died for.
I watched proudly as the parades went by,
my old comrades with their heads held high.
Alas, they are no longer that brave band of brothers.
Continually replaced by a brave band of others
I am sorry my comrades I have no wish to offend
but is it time for this charade to end.
Caught up in the euphoria of eternal grief.
I shake my head in disbelief.
And what about our one time foe,
our despised enemy from long ago.
With a tormented past she would rather forget.
Salting her wounds every opportunity we get.
With dignity and compassion she has led the way
In this troubled world we have today
The time has come to bury the past
And seek a peace designed to last
Please don’t imagine that I lack respect
if I am not the hero you have grown to expect.
We will never forget those who gave their lives
and never forget those grieving wives.
Those fatherless children and broken hearted mothers.
Devastated comrades, a broken band of brothers
If the drums of war would only cease
Then this Unknown Soldier and many others
would finally rest in peace.
About this poem
This is an anti war poem and conveys my feelings regarding all the remembrance ceremonies that takes place all over the world. I believe they glorify war and nothing more than a recruitment tool.
Font size:
Written on November 11, 2020
Submitted by Davyreilly on March 25, 2024
Modified by Davyreilly on August 22, 2024
- 2:13 min read
- 11,962 Views
Quick analysis:
| Scheme | A BBCCDDEE FFGGHHIJ BBJJKKAA LLGGMMII NNOOPPQQ RRSSGGTGT |
|---|---|
| Closest metre | Iambic hexameter |
| Characters | 2,212 |
| Words | 441 |
| Stanzas | 7 |
| Stanza Lengths | 1, 8, 8, 8, 8, 8, 9 |
Translation
Find a translation for this poem in other languages:
Select another language:
- - Select -
- 简体中文 (Chinese - Simplified)
- 繁體中文 (Chinese - Traditional)
- Español (Spanish)
- Esperanto (Esperanto)
- 日本語 (Japanese)
- Português (Portuguese)
- Deutsch (German)
- العربية (Arabic)
- Français (French)
- Русский (Russian)
- ಕನ್ನಡ (Kannada)
- 한국어 (Korean)
- עברית (Hebrew)
- Gaeilge (Irish)
- Українська (Ukrainian)
- اردو (Urdu)
- Magyar (Hungarian)
- मानक हिन्दी (Hindi)
- Indonesia (Indonesian)
- Italiano (Italian)
- தமிழ் (Tamil)
- Türkçe (Turkish)
- తెలుగు (Telugu)
- ภาษาไทย (Thai)
- Tiếng Việt (Vietnamese)
- Čeština (Czech)
- Polski (Polish)
- Bahasa Indonesia (Indonesian)
- Românește (Romanian)
- Nederlands (Dutch)
- Ελληνικά (Greek)
- Latinum (Latin)
- Svenska (Swedish)
- Dansk (Danish)
- Suomi (Finnish)
- فارسی (Persian)
- ייִדיש (Yiddish)
- հայերեն (Armenian)
- Norsk (Norwegian)
- English (English)
Citation
Use the citation below to add this poem to your bibliography:
Style:MLAChicagoAPA
"The Unknown Soldier" Poetry.com. STANDS4 LLC, 2025. Web. 18 Mar. 2025. <https://www.poetry.com/poem/184934/the-unknown-soldier>.
Powered by CITE.ME
Discuss the poem The Unknown Soldier with the community...
Report Comment
We're doing our best to make sure our content is useful, accurate and safe.
If by any chance you spot an inappropriate comment while navigating through our website please use this form to let us know, and we'll take care of it shortly.
Attachment
You need to be logged in to favorite.
Log In