REMEMBER

 

                REMEMBER

In a great poem, which is destined to become classic, the English poet  James Falconer Kirkup (1918-2009) advises us to remember that “NO MEN ARE FOREIGN”, by which he means that all human beings are alike.  It is another matter they live in different countries, follow  different  religions, speak different languages and wear different uniforms. Despite these differences, they are our brothers. The land they walk upon is earth like our own and their harvests are subject to the same effects of air, water and sunshine as ours . They ,too, are fed by peaceful harvests and starved by war’s long winter. Physically , too, they resemble us, work like us and win hearts by love.

                 With these similarities, says Kirkup, there should be absolutely no reason for disunity and hate among men of different lands. He adds:

“Let us remember, whenever we are told

                          To hate our brothers, it is ourselves

                           That we shall dispossess, betray. Condemn.

                    

                     Also remember: “We who take arms against each other, it is the human earth we defile.  Our hells of fire and dust outrage the innocence of air that is everywhere our own.”

 

                        Kirkup concludes his poem with the message: “No Men Are Foreign, And No Countries Strange.”  

                      

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G.R.Kanwal

28.6.2023