Luke Gosling (Solomon, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Hansard source

At the Nightcliff Seabreeze Festival over a week ago, I was delighted to speak to a local poet Ynes Sanz. Ynes writes free verse, haibun and haiku, short stories and children's books. Her publications include The Pity: Unheard Voices from the Great War. Ynes gifted a copy of that to me. Part of that book of poetry is The Unknown Mother, which I will now read.

I raised my son well, taught him

to honour his country in respect his elders.

Now he studies the Laws of War.

Let him quickly learn their artful distinctions:

to kill combatant is honourable,

to kill a civilian, criminal, to kill 'treacherously'

will bring him certain death by hanging.

Let him grasp that to lay waste a man's farmlands

is a necessity of war, but to steal his possessions

is a punishable crime.

When he left, he was just a soft boy,

and now he can kill on command

with bullet or bayonet.

When he comes back, if he does come back,

will I recognise this stranger-son?

At the first glimpse of that lad they stole from me,

I will reach out my arms

and clasp his poor, bloodied, hands in mine.

It is a powerful piece of poetry from a local artist in Darwin that reminds us not only of the sacrifice of our serving people but of their families as well.

See this speech in context