Blood and tears
On Anzac Day, Samoa College student, Romario Pose and L.D.S. Pesega College student Layton Lolo received Highly Commended awards from Samoa Stationery and Books in the 2016 First World War Centenary Competition. The competition was organised and funded by the New Zealand High Commission with the winning entry representing Samoa in France. Romario’s entry was a letter to the Prime Minister while Layton’s entry was a poem. Professor Silafau Sina Va’ai of the National University of Samoa judged the entries.
Blood and tears
Gunfire and cannon blasts
Are the sounds that fill the air
Planes fly over with supplies and provisions
I look around to tear-filled sobs and grateful stares
Time is shifting; the world on fire
One minute in bed the next in full march
Thoughts of loved ones fill the mind
It stabs the heart with sorrow, making lips parched
Remembering the reasons for being here
The reasons for violence and bloodshed
Barricades providing protection
Kind and peaceful words unsaid
Fights for freedom and for the better of the rising generation
To make right every wrong
Fulfilling it with every casualty
Every bullet fired from every gun
But there is still the feeling of pity and sorrow
For every fallen person both woman and man
Kneeling down to a lifeless corpse
Closing their fear-filled eyes with the brush of a hand
Questions of strategic decisions that should never have been made
Yet following them anyway because it’s not our place
Firing at the enemy, ducking under sandbags for defense
Only to look into a fellow soldiers face
Lying on the ground; blood-soaked uniform; his hand on the trigger
A last show of respect my assault upon the slayer
A hit to the shoulder taking him to the ground
His blood falls to earth; adding to old blood with a new layer
Days pass by and neither side desire to surrender
Each day a struggle as deaths reach higher numbers
Each loss a casualty of war; cast out of mind and forgotten
With every passing second, either side grows bolder
But what is it all for? Do lives need to be lost in order to find peace?
Do men need to be sent off to war never to return to the ones they love?
Leaders see the greater good and press forward
Their plans to strike are as fierce as a hawk to a dove
Tanks follow rows and rows of soldiers, crushing rocks with every meter An explosion sends soldiers flying through the air
Some return to their feet only to be gunned down again
Their faces permanently frozen in soundless stares
A pain to the leg brings me to the ground in a howl of agony
Looking at the wound to see precious blood flow to the dirt
I hide among the dead bodies; the nose fills with the stench of
I cradle the injury with a piece of cloth from my shirt
Then darkness falls upon the battlefield as I continue to hide
Wondering if I’ll make it; my life flashing before my eyes
I see a light coming down the dirt path; I fear for my life
But alas it is friend not foe and I escape that awful night
Hospital beds line the medical tents at camp
The sight, one I wish not to remember at all
More and more come; there seems no end
One day they are well, next they fall
Days upon days, months upon months
Some days are triumphant with golden praise
But soon it’s all over and done
An incredible short-lived phase
After the fires burn down and “they that oppose” are gone
We return to the battlefield with high expectation
We loot fallen soldiers weapons both friend and foe
Then we try to move on from all this devastation
A sight catches my eye and I almost cry
A look at the face of my best friend among the pile of the dead
A picture forever remembered; never forgotten
One permanently burnt in my head
As I think about all this horror, truths come to mind
Battle is often painted and smothered in gold
We honour and praise those who stand and rise to the occasion
The brave, the respected, the fearless and even the bold
But what did they think of all this war?
Of every single battle of the greatest terrible fray
Crying out for strength to their God
Pleading, crying, beseeching; they pray
Friends and brothers in arms are what we are
Always having each others’ backs as we fought
Lessons in valour and of heroism
Of honour and more we learnt as they taught
The wounded, the dying all too many
All of whom are lost and far from home
Did they wonder if it was all worth it?
Every bullet taken and every enemy felled; were their sacrifices known?
Broken men can no longer heal within
But one other thing broken is people’s lives
Widows in black sobbing with mourning
Each one started our as wives
Pining with sorrow for the death of a loved one
Feeling the heartache of each one lost
Freedom has a price that is incredibly high
Some can’t even imagine the cost
** * * *
They fought for my freedom and I’m thankful for that
They fought for the freedom of what I believe
To speak without opposition; to write without critiquing
To think with a new perspective and simply achieve
What can we do to show our appreciation?
To show everyone that we still remember?
Remember the blood spilled for us
Spilled with feeling so full and tender
If we don’t fight for the things that matter most
To fight for what others did; to protect our liberty
The time may come when it won’t be ours
The time where it simply will cease to be
So when we see that we need to stand tall
When the moment that our freedom’s in danger
To bravery, action, courage and spirit
None of us will be strangers
My battlefield may be different from the past
Everyone today has one, what’s yours?
But despite our different battles we are there for each other
We fight for our faith, we live every lesson and we win every war
Remember the fallen!
Layton Sailimalo Lolo
L.D.S. Pesega
Highly Commended