THE BOY

I sit here with pen in hand
to tell the tale of one Man's name.
He was a boy of barely sixteen
when he first left home to wage war in his country's name.

He had sat at night and watched the battles
the T.V. brought home.
He read the papers and saw the lists;
the casualties, they just kept growing.

He saw the protesters burn the Flag,
and throw red paint on the returning Diggers.
They marched each day to picket the docks;
to stop the lifeline those Diggers needed.
This boy was unable to comprehend why Australians
would abandon their own so far from home.

This boy could see his duty clear.
Our Country was at war and someone must fight
to maintain our freedom and our honour.

Through the rigours of South East Asia
to the far away heat of the Middle East
this boy fought his country's battles for nigh on 12 years.
Names like Viet Nam, Indonesia, Thailand, Malaysia,
India, Pakistan, Saudi Arabia, The Arab Emirates, Afghanistan
all remain fresh in his memory to this day.

This boy was Me

©Copyright October 2001 by Paul Anforth

(Written at the Hospital on the Hill)