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9 November 2014

A crowd assembles in twos and threes
In the cold damp air and chilly sun
Outside All Saints: some clutching
Memories and some wreaths.

The children watch as Nick reshuffles
The timings for the Last Post:
To finish at eleven on the dot
So we'll be silent in remembrance.

Yet today either the list of names
Is longer or the old soldier reads
Too slowly: so the clock tower bell
Loudly interrupts the bugle's lament.


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