Tanks for the Memories

[Hawkman]

Tanks for the memories,
the German 88s
The tigers' thickened plates
the brew-ups in the Shermans
and the burning crew's fresh graves
They're gone now, all me mates.

Tanks for the memories
I sit here on me own
upon the cold hard stone
wondering how I never cried
or even had a moan
its sad when you're alone.

So tanks for the memories
though when a piece of shrapnel
has taken off your head
you find it hard expressing
tender feelings when you're dead
that’s why I never said.

So say a prayer in passing
and raise your glasses high
remember that a tank
is just an awful place to die.

[dafydd manton]

You're a star. I just loved that the first time I read it. Can't thank you enough for posting it. It's a very, very thought-provoking work. Have a gold star.....no - have three!

[Hawkman]

Your welcome mate. Seeing as you like it so much I'll dedicate it to you :D

Best, H

[PrinceMyshkin]

Marvelous how you can meld a bit of humour with such genuinely deep-seated grief. I salute you, gov!

[Maryd.]

Well this one gave me a chill Hawkman... It's very powerful sir. Well done.

[Hawkman]

Marvelous how you can meld a bit of humour with such genuinely deep-seated grief. I salute you, gov!

Thanks Prince. It's the service background I think. The humour is very dark, but the grief over wasted lives is real enough. Allied tank crews were at a severe disadvantage for most of WW2 and the battle of armour was one of attrition. I can't hear old tankers talking without really feeling it.


Well this one gave me a chill Hawkman... It's very powerful sir. Well done.

Thanks Mary. This one just came to me as Dafydd and I were chatting about nonsense. I think I wrote it in about 10 minutes and sent it as a reply to a PM. Daf said i should post it so I gave it a polish and put it up. Didn't think it would be well recieved to be honest, so thanks again. But I think "Ambush" is a better poem :D

Best, H

[Maryd.]

My my, ten minutes... Wow, I'll have to go and read Ambush.

[dafydd manton]

Your welcome mate. Seeing as you like it so much I'll dedicate it to you :D

Best, H

*Bows deeply, scrapes floor with old forage cap!* Thank you, I'm deeply flattered!

[Hawkman]

You do realise that you are required, under the terms of the dedication, to constantly murmer, "Trundle, Trundle, Trundle, Squeak" as you walk about... Then of course there is maintenance. You must keep your barrel spotless and use a pull-through at least twice a week...

[lallison]

good use of dialect, and interesting allusion to the classic (is it Bob Hope) song. i like these dark war poems your putting out lately.

[Hawkman]

Thanks lall, H

[AuntShecky]

For some reason I can't imagine Bob "If it's Christmas this must be Seoul" Hope singing this if the centenarian were still around. He wasn't a tool of the 1950s-era Military-Industrial complex nor an apologist for war, and may have even harbored secret pacifist thoughts, but made sure every syllable, sung or spoken, was upbeat and positive. It was the times, and the demands of the USO tour.

Your parody of the old song-- which matches the original tune, word to word -- has a more contemporary quality, not exactly cynical but reflecting a realistic and rational vision. Well done.

[Hawkman]

Thanks Auntie, My late mother shared a few memories of her own with me before she died. As well as knowing a chap who went down on HMS Hood (3 survivors out of 1700 odd men) she knew a mother whose son was in tanks. He was killed. The mother desperately wanted to know what had happened to her son. They didn't want to tell her but she insisted. They told her. She never got over it.

You know, there's not much point in being frightened of being dead. But how you die, that's a different matter all together.

Best H

[dafydd manton]

Funny, that, Hawk. My biggest fear was never getting shot down, or crashing or anything like that. I always had a gremlin on my shoulder about coming down in the Oggin, which never left me. Don't like ships for the same reason - fat lot of used I'd have been in the Andrew!

[Hawkman]

Just as well you didn't serve in flying boats then! My dad was a char punka upper pani ghary walla, well almost :D But what he doesn't know about Lockheed constellations isn't worth knowing....

[dafydd manton]

Shackletons and Nimrods, me! Kipper fleet!

[Hawkman]

My dad flew in Wimpies, (Wellingtons) Yorks, Halifaxes, Liberators, and Mitchels and possibly a couple of others too. I think he may have flown in Lancs. he was on the Berlin Airlift too. I've only ever flown a chipmuck and a glider (T34) :D though I have been for a trip in a 737 :D

PS I forgot the Dakota the Dove and the Viscount (stuff father flew) H

[dafydd manton]

There's a brillinat book about the Airlift, "Bridge Across the Sky". Worth a read, although it does have a rather American slant. Even the NAAFI in Berlin was called The Airbridge.

[Hawkman]

I'll keep an eye ou for it.

[Bar22do]

Just to tell you I read and loved it, though the subject is heavy and the old song unknown to me... Hopefully this doesn't disqualify me to appreciate your rhyme and feelings properly (especially coming from where I do...)! best - Bar

[Hawkman]

Sweet Bar, If you Google Bob Hope and Thanks for the Memory you should be able to find a you-tube clip of the song. I always rather liked it to tell the truth. :D

Best, H