Lest We Forget

• Aneesh Sriram, Grade 7
• Poetry
• 2022

We were grim, filled with grief and some of us started to cry,
We thought we couldn’t win the war, but my brother told us to never say die,
I nibbled on my snack and took a deep breath,
I was not scared of anything, not even death,
I thought about my wife and son, as I started playing the fife,
I played it with misery, failing to notice my brother pulling out a knife,
He charged into the enemy’s trench, sacrificing his life for the others,
The fellow soldiers, with fear and sadness, looked at one another,
The war in Gallipoli had ended, and my brother had saved us all,
With my eyes filled with tears, I started to uncontrollably bawl,
My eyes, red and raw from crying, spotted a bright red flower, a poppy,
I will forever remember him and his shirt, how it was quite sloppy,
The poppy sprouted right next to him, showing a new sign of life,
We must vow to ourselves that we should never start any strife,
In remembrance of my brother and all the Anzacs who took their lives,
Lest we forget.