When you signed

put life on the line

with handwritten ink bleeding on the page,

did you realize the sacrifice

a mother’s wail to follow in the night

before your feet left this land?

My heart cracks with the thinking of it

pain leaking out slow.

The life you donated for others

unknown to you

makes me know without doubt

love is brave.

© Alicia Grimshaw 2017

Thank you to all who have given their lives for others.