Watchtower

A silent watcher, still I stand,

Now restored by friendly hands,

Come stay awhile, and share my dream,

Of wartime nights, and rem lights gleam.

No more I hear within these walls,

The sound of voices, soft footfalls,

So sadly now, I watch alone,

With empty heart, in shroud of stone.

Concrete crumbles, lifetimes end,

But still you visit me, old friends,

I welcome you, come walk with me,

Along the lanes of memory.

Silhouetted, staunch, groundcrew,

Exhaust flames of violent blue,

Laden shapes move slowly by,

To thunder to the evening sky

Great dark wings they downward reach,

With muted Merlins, tyres screech,

My sombre hawks, return once more,

From their great lottery of War.

Now when you leave once more,

I face this silent, lonely, empty space,

To watch again, through eyes of glass,

The fleeting years, and seasons past.

Yet even now, in memories eye

Our vanished runway’s reaching high

Arrow straight away from me,

And stretching to infinity.