More poetry

Return of the Soldier

Corporal McLeod stands alone on the platform
Waiting for the train to carry him home.
He wears his uniform proudly, although minus the gun,
He’s not standing to attention, but he’s not quite at ease.
He stares up at the station clock
tick tock, tick tock
Time passes slowly.
He's not yet home but already thinking of when he will leave.

Mrs McLeod sits alone in her kitchen
Waiting for her son to come home from the war.
He left as her little boy, but will return home a man.
She carries her pride tightly wrapped up in fear
She stares up at the kitchen clock
tick tock, tick tock
Time passes slowly
He’s not yet home but already she’s thinking of when he will leave.

Major Mcleod sits alone in his home
waiting for his nurse to come give him a bath.
He went off to war as a boy and returned home a man
But many believe he did not return at all,
He is only home in body, his heart stayed in Dunkirk
He watches the pendulum swing on the Grandfather clock,
Tick tock, tick tock
Time passes slowly
He’s safely at home but already thinking of when he will leave.

Corporal McLeod watches his mother wait at the gate
She seems smaller, greyer, visibly aged
Mrs Mcleod watches her son march down the road
He seems taller, broader, visibly aged
A bitter cold wind welcomes him home
He misses the hot desert sun he left behind
His mother hugs him, cries, laughs, and cries again.

Corporal McLeod visits Major Mcleod
His grandfather looks up at the soldier
He notices the changes, his height and his strength
But recognises that deep down inside
His grandson went away to war a boy
But he hasn’t really returned at all.