大象传媒

'This poem was submitted to the People's War site by Rick Allden of the CSV 大象传媒 Coventry and Warwickshire Action Desk on behalf of Elizabeth Collins and has been added to the site with her permission. The author fully understands the site's terms and conditions'.

A Chance Encounter

A chance encounter with the enemy
That鈥檚 what me and Monica had,
Us in our early teens,
Hormones kicking in,
The Italian prisoners of war,
Just a few years older.

Did they call to us,
Even whistle?
Standing by the locked gate
That summer evening.
They were handsome boys,
Flashing smiles, dark locks.

Not the enemy you understand,
That鈥檚 not what we saw anyway.
Flirting in all our innocence
Boy meets girl stuff
That summer evening
When we met.

It was the gift that was the problem,
The swiss roll they gave us,
Our eyes lit up, mouths watered,
A treat in store.
So we left them,
Turned our back on the enemy.

We contemplated the gift,
How to explain to our family,
What would we say?
So we destroyed the evidence,
Sat on the bench and ate it,
All of it, every crumb.

And continued on our way,
Appetites satisfied,
That summer evening
Many years ago
When we were young.
And boy met girl.

Elizabeth Collins

This poem was donated to the People鈥檚 War website by Elizabeth Collins, of the Leam Writers. If you would like to find out more about Leam Writers call 0845 900 5 300.

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