Soldiers Of Forgotten Battles

• Patrick Van Dijk, Grade 11
• Poetry
• 2022

Their names are not enshrined on memorial walls,
Though they fight every day for their freedom to live.
Their photos do not adorn museum halls,
Nor is their bravery ever recognised.

These soldiers, men and women just like you and I,
Do not their deeds for money nor fame,
But instead so that others can say, every night 'Today I did not die.'

They fight not on the battlefields of a foreign nation,
Nor do they fight in tanks,
Instead they fight for justice, peace and education,
So that you and I can live the life we deserve.

Bravery is not leaving an entire city in carnage, for the sake of a few bad men,
It is the ability to stand in the mirror and ask yourself 'if not now, then when?'