…I don’’t often cut and paste my Facebook posts as blog pieces, but so many people have asked me to do so with the post I made on there yesterday, in the hope that the message may go viral… if yeez wish to share it, please do so… LUV YEEZ!… here’s the post:
…the older I become, the less rational the world appears… I care not for the arguments and posturing that dress themselves as nationalistic, religious, political or downright greed… when a young man standing HONOUR GUARD in memory of those fallen in horrendous global conflicts around the planet is gunned down under some pretence of a deluded fanatic’s ‘righteousness’, my soul screams out, ‘Enough’! ….how present are the words of the song that ask ‘when will they ever learn?’ ..the ‘they’ being all of the creeds, nutters, even well-meaning hawks of all nationalities… last year, I unashamedly admit I was reduced to tears watching the televised Remembrance Service at London’s Cenotaph… getting older myself, I have an increasing awareness of just how precious life is… some of that emotion returned in spades yesterday with the symbolism of the War Memorial next to which a young man’s life was needlessly taken… I want to reprint here, before the whole swathe of November 11th’s internet stuff swamps the Web, the poem I wrote last year watching that service, and humbly dedicate it to Cpl. Nathan Cirillo:
TELL ME, JOHN, LET ME HEAR IT ONCE
Tell me, John, let me hear it once
From beyond the grave wherein you lie.
Tell me once, that I may know
Why the Hell did you have to die?
Now that I myself am growing old
As you were not allowed to do,
When your country went to War,
Killing them, and us, and you.
Is Humanity so bereft
Of sense and sensibility?
That murder dressed as War
Is the tip of Man’s ability?
Yes, my dear, I understand
There’s times to right the wrong
When Nation pits at Nation
To prove which one is strong.
But feel each mother’s loss
The angst, the grief, the pain
It’s no use telling them,
‘Let them not have died in vain’.
For every priceless child that’s gone,
Every precious son and daughter,
There can ne’er be salve enough
To ease the cost of slaughter.
So, yes, let us remember,
Not the glory, nor the killing
Nor the rant of politicians
Sending us to do their willing.
Yes, please,
Tell me, John, let me hear it once
From beyond the grave wherein you lie.
Tell me once, that I may know
Why the Hell did you have to die?
Seumas Gallacher
11.00 am, November 10th, 2013
ALL MY BLOG POSTS ARE FREE TO SHARE/RE-BLOG SHOULD YOU SO WISH—BE MY GUEST!
Reblogged this on muddled musings of a mangled mind.
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thank you for the reblog, that man 🙂
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So very moving. I have to admit tears…
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..we are but human, m’Lady, Barbara…LUVZYA!:)
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This is beautiful Seumas and I’m having trouble holding back tears. There have been quite a few as the enormity of this tragedy hits home here. I endured the hours of lockdown trying to reach family, waiting on tenterhooks for any news… I walked out out into a crisp, autumn afternoon that looked like so many others but was in a city altered forever.
As a Canadian, Ottawan, and child of a family with many proud Servicemen and First Responders; thank you for your words.
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…LUVZYA, m’Lady, Karin… just, LUVZYA….
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Reblogged this on Musings on Life & Experience and commented:
There’s just one word I’d use for this–beautiful.
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..thank you, m’Lady,:)
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Brilliant! 🙂
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..thank you, m’Lady 🙂
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Reblogged this on Chris The Story Reading Ape's Blog….. An Author Promotions Enterprise! and commented:
If the dead whose lives were cut short by senseless violence could speak to us, the living, what would be their reply?
“When WILL you ever learn?”
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a-men, that man, a-men..:)
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Reblogged this on Fiction Favorites and commented:
A moving tribute to all who have fallen in service and in wanton acts of violence.
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,,thanks, John… you have it in one, that man :
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Very touching poem. It is so sad we have so many to remember.
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Beautiful Seumas.
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Reblogged this on Author P.S. Bartlett.
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It’s alright…I needed a good cry this morning anyway. ❤
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…LUVZYA, m’Lady, Patricia:)
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Reblogged this on Daily Echo and commented:
One man’s words on the senseless violence that pits life against life, where even the ‘winners’ lose and mothers of every nation weep with the same grief.
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…thank you, m”lady, Sue… your comment is bang on …
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A beautiful and moving piece, Seumas. Thank you.
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Reblogged this on Books: Publishing, Reading, Writing and commented:
From a Scotsman, living in Abu Dhabi, about a senseless act (and all other senseless acts) halfway around the world. Thank you, Seumas, for your thoughtful words.
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..thank you, Susan
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Very moving poem, Seumas. Thank you for sharing it again.
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Please correct your name for me! Drat, drat!
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amended, m’Lady… worry not… what’s in a name anyway ?:):):) and thank you very much for your comment …much appreciated 🙂
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Reblogged this on Have We Had Help? and commented:
I totally agree – the world has gone to hell in a handcart!
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I couldn’t agree more Seumas.
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cheeeers, Jack … thanks , that man 🙂
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Reblogged this on 1WriteWay and commented:
A truly wonderful dedication from a truly wonderful man, Seumas Gallacher (gifted blogger, author, poet). I feel a kinship with the great man (“… the older I become, the less rational the world appears …”) and (too) often these days ask the question: “Why the Hell did you have to die?”
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…thank you, m’Lady… we ARE (supposedly ) all bound with the common trait of Humanity…but sometimes one wonders… LUVZYA!
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Such a beautiful tribute, Seumas. Thank you for sharing it with us.
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..thank you, m’Lady, Jill …
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Should never be forgotten. Thanks Seumas.
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…indeed. m’Lady, Olga… thanks for commenting …
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Brilliant and beautiful! Proud to be Canadian! 🙂
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…I think the entire world feels a little bit Canadian today, m’Lady
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🙂
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Reblogged this on Wild and Woolly Wordsmithing and commented:
Seumas put my feelings into words so eloquently, I can’t help but share. Bless those that serve so selflessly and their families….
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As always, Sir, you say it far more eloquently than I could….had to reblog… Thank you for being you.
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…thank you, m’Lady LUVZYA!
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deserves to be recited from a kneeling position
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,,thanks, Paul.. much appreciated, that man :
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This stirring poem easily brought me to tears. Powerful. ❤
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..as quoted above, m’Lady… we are all supposedly human…
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Sometimes, a heavy accent on the ‘ly’
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Moving and beautiful, thank you. When will we learn, indeed?
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…thank you, Eilis… when, indeed?…
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Reblogged this on theowlladyblog.
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faith, unsupported by evidence is a lethal weapon. the inculcation into children that there is something virtuous by faith has to stop. so often i hear ‘this child is a catholic, hindu, muslim’ etc., or some other nonsense, rather than this is just a child…free to think or question as they please. until that day, we will probably all feel loss and anger and frustration, so we should. it’s important that we dont become immune to this evil – great words seumas.
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..agreed, that man…
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Reblogged this on relationspdbeverly and commented:
I’m so tired of the madness.
Thanks for the post, Seumas.
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…thanks for the comment , and the reblog …
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Reblogged this on Smorgasbord – Variety is the spice of life and commented:
Seumas shared this on Facebook and because it was so universally applauded he then transferred to his blog. And rightly so. Kicking off Reblog Saturday a dedication to all who have fallen this week and every week. The tragedy of their dying in the service of their country across all nations is that winning hearts and minds as the first option is not given as much focus as a show of military strength. A thought provoking tribute to Corporal Nathan Cirillo and all other young people who have died or been injured in service.
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..thank you, dear Lady…
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Reblogged this on The Linden Chronicles and commented:
Enough…
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..thank you, that man 🙂
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Great words, Seumas!
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Reblogged this on bonniegcarter and commented:
…a dedication to all the fallen, and particularly Cpl Nathan Cirillo in the face of the recent madness
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…thank you for the reblog, m’Lady, Bonnie Gail…
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Reblogged this on Jo Robinson.
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..thank you for the reblog, m’Lady 🙂
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Pingback: Tell Me, John, Let Me Hear it Once by Seumas Gallacher | First Night History
Reblogged this on The BUTHIDARS and commented:
I cannot not add today this piece about the stupidity of war, the complete waste of human life.. We dislike the fanaticism of others, lets not create a creed of that ourselves. Lets consciously make the effort to live in peace with our fellow man,
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…couldn’t agree more, David …cheeeers , that man 🙂
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…oh, indeed, that man,,, the world has gone to hell in a hand basket… where all the politicians seem more concerned on being re elected than looking after the constituencies that brought them there… their people… 😦
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A beautiful tribute to all that have given their lives for freedom. When will this ever stop. Tears…….
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…we are lacking the greatness of statesmen and stateswomen across the planet, who may in that greatness avert the killing of lives to the saving of lives…. God only knows, that this world needs it … thank you for your comment, m’Lady, Patricia..;)
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Where is a new Churchill when you need him? .
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There’s a war grave at Beaumont Hamil that reduced me to tears.I can’t remember the guy’s name but I’m pretty sure he was from a Scottish regiment fighting alongside the Newfoundlanders, The inscription was from his wife and I can’t even remember the whole thing, just the bit that broke me up:
“I loved you in life and I love you still.”
I’m pretty sure she said he was her best friend too.
These days when politics is about personalities rather than issues I think we are in serious danger of losing the plot. Hateful messages like that one on the sign outside Clacton on Sea make me ashamed. All this feeling against Immigrants who come in and work here ‘taking’ the jobs when actually, in their absence, we refuse to do them. I know of a couple of employers, paying well above the minimum wage, who can’t fill vacancies for van drivers and bus drivers without looking to other countries in the EU. Perhaps it’s time people like UKIP looked at where hatred gets us, ie, dead. (steps off soap box)
Cheers
MTM
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…yes, I agree … when I worked for a while in Australia, I encountered the same anti-foreign-workers syndrome… when I was growing up all those years ago in Glasgow, the entire city transport system was staffed by excellent Pakistani drivers and conductors ,,, and lots of the early corner shops and ice cream stores owned and run by immigrants… I like the reference to the soldier’s gravestone … like my compadre,Billy Connolly, I have a fascination with the stories and lives behind the cemeteries’ inscriptions… cheeers, m’Lady :)..
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