Overlooking a desolate moorland plain
Perched on the windswept *****
A memorial to a lost pilot,
The simple cairn - a remembrance of hope
Of a young man - a son and brother.
He lost his life acting beyond his scope.

The scars of what happened lives on
Affecting those left behind
The passage of time might heal
But the process is never kind -
Memory lingers, surfacing when least expected
To reinforce the ties that bind.

Greater love they say
For friends, then how about for a stranger?
Most people head the other way,
Only the brave head towards the danger -
Call it duty, call it stupidity
Whatever called that day, was a life changer.

You didn't come back to us.
You lie in the cold earth
Far from home, from family;
But everyday, people remember your worth
The life you lived, the love you gave,
your death; a memory gave birth.