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Percy

I never met you
but can imagine you
stood there even now
in your uniform
with your slightly bent cap.
 
I never looked up at you
growing up
and said with a wide eyed
innoncence
you were almost
as a big as a tree
(All 6 foot 4 of you).
 
Never served beside you
through the mud in Burma
which must have been
hell to crawl through
before being transferred
possibly against your choice to India,
where I like to think
you imagined
you were an explorer
stepping into the unknown.
 
Never marched alongside you
every morning
and at night
as part of the fullisers
or drank a warm beer
with you
on the rare occasion
you managed to rest.
 
I wasn’t there
when you went back there
for that final time
and never heard you say
‘I’ll write soon’
and you letter
only arrived
after you had gone.
 
I was told
you died like a man
leading your men
into the gates
of the machine guns
which cut you down
like the charge
of the light brigade
and passed on
so others lived
to fight another day.
 
I never met you
but can imagine you stood there
in your uniform
even though
we never met,
but I can taste your thoughts
right up until the end
into the embrace of shadows.
 
Percy Henry Nicholson.
 
1918 - 1943
 
Percy Henry Nicholson.
 
My Uncle.
 
1918 - 1943
 
 
A short video of these performed with Jeffarama in August 2014 can be seen here

◄ The Other Side (Space Poem)

Before the Curtains Open ►

Comments

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Jeff Dawson

Mon 10th Jan 2011 08:59

Andy, this is brilliant, moving powerful and respectufl, really pleased with the chords I do to this, really set the mood and love playing it live with you in our band A Means to an End! cheers Jeff

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winston plowes

Fri 7th Jan 2011 00:35

Hi Andy. this is great, missed it when it was blogged but your performance of it tonight at the G & V in Bolton was superb with Jeff on guitar acompanyment. the perfect tone was struck to match the subject. Actually you 2 work very well together. Win x

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Andy N

Tue 21st Dec 2010 08:12

thanks Alan.. I've never met him sadly and won't now in this lifetime, but glad you liked it... means a lot to me...

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alan barlow

Fri 17th Dec 2010 21:02

a poignant view and a fitting ode to your uncle i think he will like it when he comes to peer over your shoulder to read it. thankyou

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Andy N

Wed 15th Dec 2010 08:13

Cheers Philipos for the comment.. I'll double-check for the typo later on.

I know my Uncle Percy was a member of the Lancashire Fullisers - as far as I am aware he wasn't one of Wingate's Chindits but I will have to ask my father over that...

Philipos

Tue 14th Dec 2010 21:39

Minor typo in stanza 5 line 6 'you' should read 'your' I think but otherwise a superb overview of war overseas - was your uncle one of the forgotten army in Wingate's Chindits I wonder

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