"They Said"
I sit here listening
to Eric Bogle's words
about young men
sent off
to fight a war
"they said"
would end all wars.
They waltzed Matilda
over foreign battle fields
until
the dance was done
and they were done
and "they said"
that the war was won.
And they came back
with missing arms and legs
and lungs full of gas
and minds full of moving pictures
they couldn't bear to watch
and when "they said"
'Lest we forget'
they wished they could
And now Matilda dances
that slow waltz
with a wolf in sheep's clothing
hiding behind
a burning Bush
of smoke and mirrors
and "they said"
and "they said"
and "they said"!