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They Were There (when the war came)

When the war cameRAYMOND SIGIMET

| An entry in the Crocodile Prize Award for Poetry

There were planters 
There were traders 
They were there 
When the war came

There were administrators 
There were commanders 
They were there 
When the war came

There were missionaries
There were mercenaries 
They were there 
When the war came

There were explorers 
There were prospectors 
They were there 
When the war came

There were civilians 
There were Territorians 
They were there 
When the war came 

There were diggers 
There were soldiers 
They were there 
When the war came

There were carriers 
There were watchers 
They were there 
When the war came 

There were natives 
There were primitives 
They were there 
When the war came 

There were men 
There were women 
They were there 
When the war came 

There were teens 
There were children 
They were there 
When the war came

There were villages 
There were hamlets 
That were there 
When the war came 

There were armaments 
There were bombardments
That were there 
When the war came 

There were executions
There were prisons 
That were there 
When the war came

There was destruction 
There was starvation
That were there 
When the war came 

They were on one side 
We were on one side 
We were together
When the war came 

There were casualties 
There was mortality 
They were there 
When the war came

There were honours 
There was remorse 
They were there 
When the war came

Histories were written 
Stories were forgotten
They all happened
After the war came

It was all there 
They were all there
When the war came 
We remember just the same

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