{"id":209,"date":"2016-03-23T21:16:12","date_gmt":"2016-03-23T21:16:12","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.dellangling.co.uk\/wps\/?page_id=209"},"modified":"2025-08-01T12:13:30","modified_gmt":"2025-08-01T12:13:30","slug":"poetry","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/www.dellangling.co.uk\/wps\/poetry\/","title":{"rendered":"Poetry"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading has-text-align-center\"><span style=\"color: #333399; font-size: large;\">THE SOLDIER STOOD AND FACED GOD<\/span><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-group\"><div class=\"wp-block-group__inner-container is-layout-constrained wp-block-group-is-layout-constrained\">\n<p class=\"has-text-align-center wp-block-paragraph\">The soldier stood and faced God,<br>Which must always come to pass.<br>He hoped his shoes were shining,<br>just as brightly as his brass.&#8217;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-text-align-center wp-block-paragraph\">Step forward now, you soldier,<br>how shall I deal with you?<br>Have you always turned the other cheek?<br>To My Church have you been true?<br><br>&#8216;The soldier squared his shoulders and said,<br>&#8216;No, Lord, I guess I am not.<br>Because those of us who carry guns,<br>Can&#8217;t always be a saint.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-text-align-center wp-block-paragraph\">I&#8217;ve had to work most Sundays,<br>and at times my talk was tough.<br>And sometimes I&#8217;ve been violent,<br>because the world is awfully rough.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-text-align-center wp-block-paragraph\">But, I never took a penny,<br>that wasn&#8217;t mine to keep&#8230;<br>Though I worked a lot of overtime,<br>when the bills got just too steep.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-text-align-center wp-block-paragraph\">And I never passed a cry for help,<br>though at times I shook with fear.<br>And sometimes, God, forgive me,<br>I&#8217;ve wept unmanly tears.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-text-align-center wp-block-paragraph\">I know I don&#8217;t deserve a place,<br>among the people here.<br>They never wanted me around,<br>except to calm their fears.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-text-align-center wp-block-paragraph\">If you&#8217;ve a place for me here, Lord,<br>It needn&#8217;t be so grand.<br>I never expected or had too much,<br>but if you don&#8217;t, I&#8217;ll understand.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-text-align-center wp-block-paragraph\">There was a silence all around the throne,<br>where the saints had often trod.<br>As the soldier waited quietly,<br>for the judgment of his God.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-text-align-center wp-block-paragraph\">&#8216;Step forward now, you soldier,<br>you\u2019ve borne your burdens well.<br>Walk peacefully on Heaven&#8217;s streets;<br>you\u2019ve done your time in Hell.&#8217;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-text-align-center wp-block-paragraph\">Author Unknown~<\/p>\n<\/div><\/div>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading has-text-align-center\">We Shall Remember Them<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-group\"><div class=\"wp-block-group__inner-container is-layout-constrained wp-block-group-is-layout-constrained\">\n<p class=\"has-text-align-center wp-block-paragraph\">I found this morning unaware<br>At the bottom of my garden there<br>Is a wasted corner bare,<br>A Blood Red Poppy flowering there.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-text-align-center wp-block-paragraph\">In silence I stood a while to stare<br>And murmured low the softest prayer,<br>My saddened heart was full of care<br>For the slender poppy smiling there:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-text-align-center wp-block-paragraph\">And down the bank a few feet near<br>The whitest daisy growing there<br>As if the world had shed a tear<br>For a soldier hero lying there:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-text-align-center wp-block-paragraph\">And just beyond the garden wall<br>A thousand poppies growing tall<br>Among a field of purest tears<br>Shed for other Grenadiers,<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-text-align-center wp-block-paragraph\">While in my garden grows alone<br>A Blood Red Poppy of my own.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-text-align-center wp-block-paragraph\">Poem By Dr R V Whitlock.<\/p>\n<\/div><\/div>\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-image\">\n<figure class=\"aligncenter\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"481\" height=\"678\" src=\"http:\/\/www.dellangling.co.uk\/wps\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/03\/poem1.jpg\" alt=\"poem1\" class=\"wp-image-273\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.dellangling.co.uk\/wps\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/03\/poem1.jpg 481w, https:\/\/www.dellangling.co.uk\/wps\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/03\/poem1-213x300.jpg 213w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 481px) 100vw, 481px\" \/><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>THE SOLDIER STOOD AND FACED GOD The soldier stood and faced God,Which must always come to pass.He hoped his shoes were shining,just as brightly as his brass.&#8217; Step forward now, you soldier,how shall I deal with you?Have you always turned the other cheek?To My Church have you been true? &#8216;The soldier squared his shoulders and said,&#8216;No, Lord, I guess I&#8230; <a href=\"https:\/\/www.dellangling.co.uk\/wps\/poetry\/\">Read more &raquo;<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"parent":0,"menu_order":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"page-templates\/full-width.php","meta":{"footnotes":""},"class_list":["post-209","page","type-page","status-publish","hentry"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.dellangling.co.uk\/wps\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/209","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.dellangling.co.uk\/wps\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.dellangling.co.uk\/wps\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/page"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.dellangling.co.uk\/wps\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.dellangling.co.uk\/wps\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=209"}],"version-history":[{"count":4,"href":"https:\/\/www.dellangling.co.uk\/wps\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/209\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":3361,"href":"https:\/\/www.dellangling.co.uk\/wps\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/209\/revisions\/3361"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.dellangling.co.uk\/wps\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=209"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}