Virtual
War Memorial
Australia

Sandstone block with column and cross - inbuilt seat at front

Gretna Green Cenotaph

The cenotaph perched upon a Gallipoli grassed knoll,
An antipodean Nike of Samothrace, on a stairway cast,
A petite ridgeline sparsely covered in late Summer’s grass,
My grandmother's beloved pale straw colours, fawn fast.

While the Derwent River glides peacefully still below,
With the pure water running bye, with cherries on the side
On the living land and passing by, Gretna’s traffic extolls,
The divide contrasts with the young lives given in love.

Vain glorious leaders with new toys, stride the stage but don’t abide,
Mrs Walker-Clarendon’s nephews lost, doubly crossed with pride,
Names proudly lauded upon the Cenotaph’s solid sandstone plinth,

Further local boys engraved, they too with misplaced tomorrows.

Evan Evans, August 2024