Dunkirk - then and now

 

Dunkirk seventy seven years the same venue

where courageous soldiers stood in fear and waiting

A battle raged amongst strewn wreckage

bodies floating in a moving tide

Bombs rained down from enemy planes

Blighty and home well in sight

A nearby forest dank and unnoticed

groups of immigrants assembled

They too could see Blighty, their hoped for destination

in groups, cold and destitute

Foot weary with no belongings or food

a cloudy sky, the sound of birds only

A family from Iraq, father, mother, 

a six week old baby and two small children

They too had lost all, abandoned all

to reach those far off white cliffs

The father stood as a figure of fortitude

as the mother poured forth her love

The baby had never known the inside of a building

Together they had nothing, no luggage or food

Hope was fading fast