Lament: a poem by Carol Stephens

Lament.

 

Rugby and beer.

We had such plans, me and the lads.

But all was taken by war.

Life snuffed out before it was a quarter spent.

 

Best that Mother never lost the light of hope.

Wish we could have returned, me and the lads.

To endless days of rugby and roast lamb.

 

This poem by Carole Stephens was written at a workshop at our exhibition Heart of Conflict, at the Royal Cornwall Museum, Truro, in 2017.

Percy Lidgey, a mine carpenter and rugby player from Redruth, died at the Western Front. His body was never found and his mother never accepted his death, leaving the light on in the passage and the key in the door for many years afterwards in case Percy returned.  For more about his story, click here.