Eleven (The Number of Remembrance)
There
is silence.
It is the silence that follows a shattering noise.
And in that whistling, unbelieving moment – nothing
can make sense.
Then,
sight and sound intensified, every sense is focused on this part,
A
moment of sensation,
Of awful realisation,
A wound struck at the heart.
Instinct, yet still disciplined, dictates what men must do,
As clouds of dust, rising, close the skies,
And
shattered walls trap now unseeing eyes,
Comrades claw at rubble to reach
their fallen few.
A
helmet, stained and dirty, lies dented on the ground,
Torn and muted metal
shall no more fill with sound.
Yet no foul act of treason can ever cause to fall
Traditions of Britannia – rich seams on which to call.
Eleven spaces in the ranks – Defiance marches out,
Eleven silent instruments to drown all evil’s shout,
Eleven stolen souls still honoured to this day,
Eleven
names upon the stand where still musicians play.
The town of Deal remembers well the scar that cut you through,
These men – Musicians of Marines – were rightly our sons too.
Sheila is a Registered Nurse who has strong family links to Deal and moved to the area herself some seven
years ago. Involved in local matters she is currently a member of the Walmer Lifeboat fund-raising committee
and also supports the Deal Salvation Army. At the time of the bombing she was matron of a nursing home
in Broadstairs and, along with colleagues took part in a sponsored run to help raise funds for the subsequent appeal.
Sheila says “Having family associations in Deal with the
Marines I felt I wanted to mark the anniversary of the bombing in some way. The inspiration for the poem
came from the way the Marine band marched through the town, with spaces in the formation where those who were killed would
have paraded. It was a simple yet powerful gesture; the whole town was so emotionally charged.
I hope those who read the poem will find it a fitting tribute to the memory of those who died and the tenacity of those
who carry on.”
Sheila is a published author and a current
member of the Deal Writers.
