Sgt MacKenzie  – by Joseph Kilna MacKenzie
Lay me doon in the caul caul groon
Whaur afore monie mair huv gaun
Lay me doon in the caul caul groon
Whaur afore monie mair huv gaun

When they come a wull staun ma groon
Staun ma groon al nae be afraid

Thoughts awe hame tak awa ma fear
Sweat an bluid hide ma veil awe tears

Ains a year say a prayer faur me
Close yir een an remember me

Nair mair shall a see the sun
For a fell tae a Germans gun

Lay me doon in the caul caul groon
Whaur afore monie mair huv gaun

Lay me doon in the caul caul groon
Whaur afore monie mair huv gaun

Whaur afore monie mair huv gaun

Most poignant of words written in honour of a hero of WW1, remembering that following that ‘Great War’ humanity resolved never to repeat those deathly errors. Tragically, the world has not been at peace since; millions perished unnecessarily. Tonight WW3 feels very close if not already unfolding, its genesis lying in part in the folly of imperial attitudes of 1945 and beyond.

In at least the past year innumerable opportunities for peace squandered; instead countless ‘soldiers’ massacred, innocent civilians blasted, mothers, grannies, children, babes ripped apart, beyond recognition. Many who lived would prefer not to have survived, as displacement, pain and debilitation bring daily toll of despair and hopelessness. Women particularly suffer brutality beyond measure, from repeated assault to stoning, burning alive and for thousands confinement at home or in silence, the darkness of the imposition of laws denying education, socialisation or fresh breeze upon innocent face and hair. 

We could have a world led by peacemakers, diplomats, singers – lovers, not fighters; a world where all are fed, nourished, safe and respected. I hope the world can make it through this night.