all hail to ye, deceased, forgotten heroes
whose lifeblood nurtures soil on nations built
once watered it with sweat and toil and seeds sowed
to reap but only death for all life spilt
all hail to mothers, fathers, generations
who set foundation stones, the bedrock laid
whose transitory lives persist in permanence
by paying of the price that must be paid
the living and the being and the doing
the dying unto self as years unfold
the sacrifice, the giving, life unravelling
as youth claims future, naturally, from old
all hail to ye, the vanguard, on whose shoulders
we build, it shall not pass in vain, that life you give
in honour and remembrance of foot soldiers
heroic, every day, in life well-lived
as once you were the present, still the future
your stake, the building blocks, that stand time’s test
as examples, living ever, in the nurture
of the relay, bearing batons, while you rest
all hail to ye, the immortal, timeless heroes
you have not passed while life holds firm the hands
of those who fill formation and then follow
no, never shall there be a final stand
your blood belongs and runs in endless heartbeats
you did not die, you live till time stands still
all hail to ye, we hear, salute your footsteps
foot soldiers, marching onwards, always will
