Tommy's Face

She lived in a town on the edge of the city
With a hard-working husband keeping kid's bellies filled
Oblivious to the horrors yet to be lived
"The war to end all wars" and millions killed

A threadbare working class, but they still lived their lives
Poorly paid work, though, and struggling to get by
In 1914, her future ripped from her hands
She couldn't even vote for her husband to die

Tommy and his pals signed up for glory
Marching and grinning but gripped by fear
She waved them off with her heart so heavy
Posters warned the Germans would be here

Tommy returned from the front a different man
Gone was his smile, his whistle in the morn
A haunted look, he couldn't say what he'd seen
She felt sad and lonely, upset and forlorn

She supported her husband throughout his trauma
Much work to do and mouths to feed
2 years now into this madness
More lambs to the slaughter was the nation's need

They recalled Tommy for a battle at the Somme
His mental wounds hidden, he stood at the door
She kissed him, then he left to meet his maker
She sighed, then cried and collapsed to the floor

On a warm July morning Tommy was sent to his death
Cut down in his prime in no man's land
A pointless, tragic waste of his life
Most now saw this "Great War" wasn't so grand

She opened the letter bearing the news
They regretted her loss and said they were pained
Passed to her loved ones and back again
Barely readable now it was so tear-stained

2 months passed and she heard some news
They were showing a film at her local cinema
The carnage at the Somme could now be viewed
Her family and friends went to see it with her

She saw a body being carried in the trenches
The face of the dead man was screened
That face was Tommy's, she leapt to her feet
"That's him! That's my Tommy!", she screamed

She was led back home to her children
Her pain and anguish she could now release
Seeing Tommy one last time gave her redemption
His face had looked content and finally at peace