ONCE written by Robert D Mc Lean:

ONCE
Where once in peace grew golden grain
Kissed by the sun, caress’d by rain,
Is now a field of flaming red,
Strewn with wounded and mangled dead.

Where once the labourer tended corn
And smiled at each bud newly born,
Where soil once pure is now so rank,
Crushed and bruised by shell and tank.

Where once the Dnieper proudly flowed,
Where once the sun’s reflection showed,
Now as the eye can see and more
Is heavy tinged with bright red gore.

Where once a city stood in peace
Now roar the guns that never cease,
Below the stars that brightly gleam,
Made Hell by a maniac’s wild dream.