Foot Soldiers

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