Apr 2014
They carved a monument out of stone
Made it stand so proud,
Down by the coast,
Fishermen drowned.
They erected a monolith,
In the heart of town.
For local fallen lads,
In bitter conflicts.
They laid a stone flat,
At pit entrance where,
Miners had gone one morn.
Never to return.
A brother worked that boat.
An uncle fell in that war.
A father left down the pit.
A family’s history drawn
By sorrow and tragedy.
© Nick Strong 2014
Made it stand so proud,
Down by the coast,
Fishermen drowned.
They erected a monolith,
In the heart of town.
For local fallen lads,
In bitter conflicts.
They laid a stone flat,
At pit entrance where,
Miners had gone one morn.
Never to return.
A brother worked that boat.
An uncle fell in that war.
A father left down the pit.
A family’s history drawn
By sorrow and tragedy.
© Nick Strong 2014
A great grandfather who was a stonemason and carved the lettering on many famous monuments in Newcastle Upon Tyne, a dear friend who lost relatives in a mining disaster and a memory of watching a fishing boat sink when a boy (thankfully no one lost their life) and above all the centenary of the First World War combined to bring this piece of writing.
