need poem

[SiC-Disaster]

Well, the thing is: my mate is at a job for school where they print stuff. ( on t-shirts, pens, everything )
And he offered to make a custom print on a t-shirt for me, so i said to him i'd like a good RO shirt

The front will probably be some old propaganda posters combined with a german and russian soldier crossing bayonets or something, saying Red Orchetra above it.

I'd like to have a nice poem on the back, preferably from soldiers, concerning the war and something that makes you think about it all when you read it.
(and if possible, not to big.. )
So far, i havent found anything really great yet, so any help would be more then great!

 

[Piggy]

Hmmm, well I would suggest "In Flanders Fields" but it might be too long for what you're looking for. Also its WW1 based ,not that it really matters as its a great poem about all soldiers.

I did find this one while looking at a website about the above poem.

This one: Ode of Remembrance (applies to all war dead) 4th verse of "For the Fallen"

They shall grow not old, as we that are left grow old.
Age shall not weary them, nor the years condemn.
At the going down of the sun and in the morning
We will remember them.


Theres lots out there you can find on the net. I'll look some more as I find these poems interesting, and touching.

Edit: sorry forth verse, not version.

Here's a link to 120 war poems http://website.lineone.net/~nusquam/wptitle.htm

 

[deathknight]

you might want to try the ballad of the white horse by G.K. Chesterton

has excellent imagery and rhyme scheme to it

here is a link to it on wikipedia

http://en.wikisource.org/wiki/The_Ballad_of_the_White_Horse

 

[Eddyz Aquila]

Check the History and Sources manual at the downloads section. 4th or 5th page it has a big poem you can use.

 

[CrazyThumbs]

It's not a poem but It's one of my favourite qutoes of WW2.

"Animals flee this hell, the strongest stones can not bear it for long, only men endure." German Officer, Stalingrad

 

[SiC-Disaster]

ok thanks guys, keep them coming please
Here's what ive got so far, most of it is coming from the book All quiet on the western front.

To tell a story about soldiers who escaped the shells, bullets and bombs of war, but got destroyed by war nevertheless.

Quote 5: "Yes, that's the way they think, these hundred thousand Kantoreks! Iron Youth! Youth! We are none of us more than twenty years old. But young? That is long ago. We are old folk." Chapter 1, pg. 18

Quote 10: "To me the front is a mysterious whirlpool. Though I am in still water far away from its centre, I feel the whirl of the vortex sucking me slowly, irresistibly, inescapably into itself." Chapter 4, pg. 55

We were eighteen and had begun to love life and the world; and we had to shoot it to pieces. The first bomb, the first explosion, burst in our hearts.

Quote 14: "Bombardment, barrage, curtain-fire, mines, gas, tanks, machine-guns, hand-grenades--words, words, words, but they hold the horror of the world." Chapter 6, pg. 132

Quote 16: "'But now, for the first time, I see you are a man like me. I thought of your hand-grenades, of your bayonet, of your rifle; now I see your wife and your face and our fellowship. Forgive me, comrade. We always see it too late. Why do they never tell us that you are poor devils like us, that your mothers are just as anxious as ours, and that we have the same fear of death, and the same dying and the same agony--Forgive me, comrade; how could you be my enemy?'" Chapter 9, p. 223

Bomb, Bullet, Shell, Bayonet, Mental Terror

 

[Eddyz Aquila]

Love the 14th one. It's the most profound.

 

[Floyd]

You can always pull a verse or two from a Floyd song :

When The Tigers Broke Free

It was just before dawn
One miserable morning in black 'forty four.
When the forward commander
Was told to sit tight
When he asked that his men be withdrawn.
And the Generals gave thanks
As the other ranks held back
The enemy tanks for a while.
And the Anzio bridgehead
Was held for the price
Of a few hundred ordinary lives.

And kind old King George
Sent Mother a note
When he heard that father was gone.
It was, I recall,
In the form of a scroll,
With gold leaf and all.
And I found it one day
In a drawer of old photographs, hidden away.
And my eyes still grow damp to remember
His Majesty signed
With his own rubber stamp.

It was dark all around.
There was frost in the ground
When the tigers broke free.
And no one survived
From the Royal Fusiliers Company C.
They were all left behind,
Most of them dead,
The rest of them dying.
And that's how the High Command
Took my daddy from me.



The Dogs Of War

Dogs of war and men of hate
With no cause, we don't discriminate
Discovery is to be disowned
Our currency is flesh and bone
Hell opened up and put on sale
Gather 'round and haggle
For hard cash, we will lie and deceive
Even our masters don't know the web we weave

One world, it's a battleground
One world, and we will smash it down
One world ... One world

Invisible transfers, long distance calls,
Hollow laughter in marble halls
Steps have been taken, a silent uproar
Has unleashed the dogs of war
You can't stop what has begun
Signed, sealed, they deliver oblivion
We all have a dark side, to say the least
And dealing in death is the nature of the beast

One world, it's a battleground
One world, and we will smash it down
One world ... One world

The dogs of war won't negotiate
The dogs of war don't capitulate,
They will take and you will give,
And you must die so that they may live
You can knock at any door,
But wherever you go, you know they've been there before
Well winners can lose and things can get strained
But whatever you change, you know the dogs remain.

One world, it's a battleground
One world, and we will smash it down
One world ... One world



..

 

[SiC-Disaster]

ive been working on a small poem of myself.

[FONT=&quot]Red Orchestra[/FONT]​

​

All the sights and sounds of war​

Soldiers are begging no more!​

In their eyes death is near​

They see it brutal, oh so clear​

The bullet, the bomb, the bayonet​

In his mind his final hours are set​

Even soldiers that survive the war​

Are scarred forevermore​

They live, but life is gone​

In his mind, war lives on​

​

Lest we forget​

 

[dogbadger]

lol i was considering '...tigers broke free' lyrics when i saw this thread- it's excellent even by floyd standards . Good one for Mare Nostrum mod - i posted a link to vid in a NM thread a while ago.
Not fan of post Walters stuff thou, have to say.

 

[slyder73]

Well, the thing is: my mate is at a job for school where they print stuff. ( on t-shirts, pens, everything )
And he offered to make a custom print on a t-shirt for me, so i said to him i'd like a good RO shirt

The front will probably be some old propaganda posters combined with a german and russian soldier crossing bayonets or something, saying Red Orchetra above it.

I'd like to have a nice poem on the back, preferably from soldiers, concerning the war and something that makes you think about it all when you read it.
(and if possible, not to big.. )
So far, i havent found anything really great yet, so any help would be more then great!

Shakespeare is always good for a few notable quips about warfare and conflict.

How about one of these?

"Cry havoc and let slip the dogs of war!"
-from Julius Caesar

"Once more unto the breach dear friends, once more."
-from Henry V

Or of course the oft quoted piece also from Henry V used in Band of Brothers

"From this day to the ending of the world,
But we in it shall be remember'd,
We few, we happy few, we band of brothers."

 

[Colt .45 killer]

Soldier of the Commonwealth​

Cries long gone silent

Pains long over

Memories fading to black
Bones returning to dust

They were
Fathers, sons, farmers, and store clerks; people really
Soldiers and heroes they became
Now they are
Places,
Sectors,
Rows,
Crosses,
And numbers.


They fought with honour and courage
for a cause long since forgotten
They killed with graceless action
Died horrible and painful deaths

Now they reside
Row on row
In many fields
Where flowers grow
-------------------------------------

thats a peice i wrote and used in school a while ago, btw, the top part there is meant to be a cross that you draw in after printing. many soldiers in world war one (mainly) and two were unidentified, and therefore often labeled "soldier of the commonwealth". the end ties into the poem "in flanders fields".

EDIT: also the text spacing and format went to hell when i posted it, it was supposed to be shaped a bit, meh no loss.

 

[Dyvim Tvar]

I've always liked;

"When cities burn
And armies turn
And flee in disarray;

Cowards Will cry
'Tis best to fly
And Fight another day;

But warriors know in their marrow
When they die and fall
'Tis better to have fought and lost
Than not to have fought at all."

 

[Eddyz Aquila]

"I speak Spanish to God, French to men, Italian to women and German to my horse." - King Charles V of France

 

[deathknight]

I've always liked;

"When cities burn
And armies turn
And flee in disarray;

Cowards Will cry
'Tis best to fly
And Fight another day;

But warriors know in their marrow
When they die and fall
'Tis better to have fought and lost
Than not to have fought at all."

good poem dude, what's it from?

if you want to do song lyrics you gotta either do "The Trooper" by Iron Maiden or "Disposable Heroes" by Metallica

Love that line from "Disposable Heroes":
Bodies fill the fields and sea, hungry heroes end

You could also do something from Slayer's "War Ensemble" which is another excellent song about war

but i think for a tee shirt short and sweet is good and if you take the last line from the poem dyvim posted it would probably fit pretty well:
"Warriors know in their marrow
When they die and fall
'Tis better to have fought and lost
Than not to have fought at all."

best of luck in your search bro

 

[Jamer]

From my rotting body
Flowers shall grow
And i am in them
And that is eternity.

I believe his name is Edvard Munch, could be wrong on the spelling but for a short poem it spoke volumes to me.

 

[[TW]Wilsonam]

Check the History and Sources manual at the downloads section. 4th or 5th page it has a big poem you can use.

Well, "Wait for me" is always one of my favourites - obviously

Then there is the old one, as engraved on the cemetery at Piskarevskoye", St Petersburg: "No-one is forgotten. Nothing is forgotten."

 

[Nahkaministeri]

I my opinion the only serious possibility here would be to go with Iron Maiden. (or Impaled Nazarene, but i doubt if anybody knows that band. Also, posting their lyrics here might get me banned)

Paschendale: (really about ww1, but I think it would suit very well. However It would require a XXXL shirt to print all the verses )

In a foreign field he lay
lonely soldier unknown grave
on his dying words he prays
tell the world of Paschendale

Relive all that he's been through
last communion of his soul
rust your bullets with his tears
let me tell you 'bout his years

Laying low in a blood filled trench
killing time 'til my very own death
on my face I can feel the falling rain
never see my friends again
in the smoke, in the mud and lead
smell of fear and feeling of dread
soon be time to go over the wall
rapid fire and the end of us all

Whistles, shouts and more gun fire
lifeless bodies hang on barbed wire
battlefield nothing but a bloody tomb
be reunited with my dead friends soon
many soldiers eighteen years
drown in mud, no more tears
surely a war no one can win
killing time about to begin

Home, far away. From the war, a chance to live again
Home, far away. But the war, no chance to live again

The bodies of ours and our foes
the sea of death it overflows
in no man's land God only knows
into jaws of death we go...

Crucified as if on a cross

allied troops, they mourn their loss
German war propaganda machine
such before has never been seen
swear I heard the angels cry
pray to God no more may die
so that people know the truth
tell the tale of Paschendale

Cruelty has a human heart
everyman does play his part
terror of the men we kill
the human heart is hungry still

I stand my ground for the very last time
gun is ready as I stand in line
nervous wait for the whistle to blow
rush of blood and over we go...

Blood is falling like the rain
its crimson cloak unveils again
the sound of guns can't hide their shame
and so we die in Paschendale

Dodging shrapnel and barbed wire
running straight at cannon fire
running blind as I hold my breath
say a prayer symphony of death
as we charge the enemy lines
a burst of fire and we go down
I choke a cry but no one hears
feel the blood go down my throat

Home, far away. From the war, a chance to live again
Home, far away. But the war, no chance to live again
Home, far away. From the war, a chance to live again
Home, far away. But the war, no chance to live again

See my spirit on the wind
across the lines beyond the hill
friend and foe will meet again
those who died at Paschendale

----------------------

The Trooper (really about Crimean war, might be good if you cut out the verses where they talk about horses and muskets)

Youll take my life but Ill take yours too
Youll fire you musket but Ill run you through
So when your waiting for the next attack
Youd better stand theres no turning back

The bugle sounds as the charge begins
But on this battlefield no one wins
The smell of arcrid smoke and horses breath
As you plunge into a certain death

The horse he sweats with fear we break to run
The mighty roar of the russian guns
And as we race towards the human wall
The screams of pain as my comrades fall

We hurdle bodies that lay on the ground
And the russians fire another round
We get so near yet so far away
We wont live to fight another day

We get so close near enough to fight
When a russian gets me in his sights
He pulls the trigger and I feel the blow
A burst of rounds take my horse below

And as I lay there gazing at the sky
My bodys numb and my throat is dry
And as I lay forgotten and alone
Without a tear I draw my parting groan

 

[Xendance]

In Soviet Russia, poems write you.

 

[Dyvim Tvar]

good poem dude, what's it from?

Acutally it's from an old Warhammer 40K rulebook from when I used to play, dunno who wrote it, it's just always stuck with me