V.E. Day on 8th May, a celebration in Icklesham, starting at 12noon with cream tea at our village hall. The below poem is to be recited in the evening, penned by one of our group. We look forward to the day, we know that it will be super fun with lots of singing and fish 'n' chips!
The Dawn of Victory
The bells, long mute, now chime again,
the choir voices call to men,
who, wearied, lay their burdens down,
and trade the rifle for the plow.
The lanes, once dark with fear and dread,
now bloom where footsteps tread,
as ribbons dance from hands set free,
like banners cast upon the sea.
O mothers, weeping not in woe,
but in the light of morning’s glow,
fathers, stand with steady breath,
for life has triumphed over death.
The old shall sit with dreams restored,
the young shall learn the ways of peace,
no tyrant’s chain, no bitter sword,
shall shroud them now or bid them cease.
Yet scars remain, some hearts still roam,
through ruin’s ash, through battle’s stone,
love carved deep upon the scroll,
a writ penned with sorrow’s toll.
But let not grief, though just, remain,
to bind us fast in sorrows chain.
For morning rises, wide and bright,
and sows the fields with golden light.
Raise up the glass, let voices ring,
let weary souls in chorus sing,
not just for war’s last raiders fall,
but for peace, hard-won by all.
By Mai Redding
