Dear Brother
They say there is a soldier who is unknown.
This cannot be you.
They say that he too was sent to kill or be killed,
For his rich King, and for his poor country.
But this cannot be you.
You live, you breathe,
And your eyes, the eyes of a survivor, are reading these words.
You are not unknown.
You are known by your mother who gave you life and suckle,
You are known by we who played games with you
On cobbled streets,
On broken carts,
On wasted land.
We were puckish children, in search of fun.
Naughty we were, naughty.
They say there is a soldier who is unknown,
Or known but to God,
But this cannot be you.
We love you brother.
You are known and loved in great measure,
And although you did not start this war,
And we who love you fail to understand this war,
(Damn this blood shedding),
We salute you.
You were called,
You were chosen.
You are in
The war to end war.
They say there is an Unknown Soldier from Ethiopia,
Will he bring an end to war?
There is an Unknown Soldier from Spain.
Will war cease with his demise?
Estonia has one of this kind,
And a Somalian cannot be account for,
But the soul and earthly ways of these unfound fighters
Are known by someone.
Many have fallen in foreign fields.
Their bones have been placed in tidy rows
Or left to sink in bog and trench.
They too fought in wars to end war,
But they are not you.
Brother, we wait for you here with those boiled sweets you like,
The girl next door still writes poems for you
Your room is as clean as your diner plate,
And your football team keeps losing.
Not much has changed.
If you see the Unknown Soldier show him love,
If you see the Unknown Soldier hold his hand,
Tell him that there must be someone somewhere who loves him,
Tell him no one is unknown,
Tell him that there must be someone somewhere who knows him,
As well as we know you.
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Feeling inspired? Write your own letter to the unknown soldier and join the 10,000+ people who have already contributed including Stephen Fry, Lee Child and Malorie Blackman.
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Letter To An Unknown Soldier
Short StoryThis story is a collection of short letters that have been submitted to the Unknown Soldier project. The project is inspired by a statue that stands on Platform 1 of Paddington Station in London, representing all the millions of soldiers who died –...
