#poetryofwitness
(A respectful, solemn echo of Milligan’s grief and witness)
“The Battery at Dawn” — after Spike Milligan’s The Soldiers at Lauro. By LongJohn, in honour of Spike Milligan
The morning came slow,
as if it already knew
what names would not be spoken again.
Smoke drifted where the lads had stood,
and the guns — usually loud,
full of swagger —
seemed ashamed of their silence.
I walked the line alone,
boots crunching through the memory
of men who’d laughed with me
only yesterday.
There’s no poetry in loss,
only the duty of remembering —
and I carry them still,
each one a steady weight
that keeps my heart from drifting.
Feb 9
Feb 9, 2026 at 5:58 AM UTC
(Pink Floyd — not RA, but widely adopted by veterans) A respectful, non copyright homage to the theme of longing and imagined peace “A Gunner’s Wish” — after The Gunner’s Dream. By LongJohn, in honour of the themes carried by Roger Waters
If only the guns would fall silent
for one clear morning,
and the world breathe out
without fear of the next barrage.
If only the lads could sleep
without the old echoes
walking the corridors of their minds.
I’ve wished for that peace
more times than I can count—
not for myself,
but for the young ones
who never learned how to grow old.
A gunner’s wish is simple—
that the world might one day
stop needing men like us.
Feb 9
Feb 9, 2026 at 6:12 AM UTC