Featured Poem for July 2013 - 'Photograph' by Roger Stevens

"Photograph" by Roger Stevens

(From Roger's forthcoming book called "What Are We Fighting For" (Macmillan) with Brian Moses - a book of poems about WWI and WWII.)

Here’s the photo I took
Last year on the beach
Dad, wearing the tie
I bought him for his birthday
Billy drinking lemonade
The straw up his nose
And Mum, huddled up in her coat
Against the seaside wind

Now Dad’s in France
And our beach is covered in concrete
And tangled barbed wire
And land mines
In case the Germans invade

But on that day
We’d just made
The world’s grandest sandcastle
And watched the tide
Rush in
Filling the moat
Gradually washing
The sandcastle away

© Roger Stevens 2013
Please do not use without the poet’s permission.

For further information about Roger Stevens and his work please visit Roger's page here.

Roger's new poetry collection for children 'Off By Heart' has just been published by A & C Black (Bloomsbury). Read our review here and click on the book's cover for further info and to order a copy.