Springtime has gone unforsaken
Winter’s snowflake fills the glen;
My days are sea- waves a-breakin,
Now Europe’s at war again.
I ken Son, yer patriot manner
There’s nae white feather for you
Boldly you held Freedom’s banner
In valour and honour sae true.
Will ye come when the red leaves are fallin’
When blossom is melting like foam?
E’er ye come when the whaps are a-callin,
I’ll be here tae welcome ye home.
I watch o’er the hills tae Lochryan
Whar gowans courtsey in Spring;
I hear o brave battles an dyin’
And fear what news they might bring.
I don’t want pipes o’er you playing
Or war-drums tae tell me yer dead;
Each day that passes I’m praying
Yer brave heart is not cold and bled.
It wasna the whites cliffs o Dover
It wasna for love o the crown
Twas for our dear hills an clover
Ye were ready tae lay yer life down.
In Gibraltar ye served wi the RAF
A lad, a’ but barely nineteen
Wi the Spitfire’s dog-fighting staff
In a tin-can bullet machine!
O a telegram told us yer story
Oor hope an’ sky turned sae black;
It read “Missing in Action for glory”
Dear Jim, are ye ne’er comin back?
O springtime brought celebrations
Great crowds filled every street
“Churchill” was the toast o the nation
Ah son, all I could do was greet.
They sang “It’s a long way to” somewhere
They sang for the heroes come hame
They sang till my heart felt right sair
They sang a’ for glory and fame.....
Patrick Scott Hogg
http://www.poemhunter.com/poem/when-the-red-leaves-are-falling-for-relative-james-hogg-killed-in-gibraltar-during-the-2nd-world-war-missing-in-action/
