War Poetry
THE BOMBER PILOT TO HIS LOVE
Light me a candle in your window, sweet,
And let it burn as brightly as our love;
However thick your curtains and complete
Your blackout, I shall see it from above.
Though high the space and long the distance stretch
Between myself and that far, flickering light,
Its flame shall be my lodestar and will fetch
Me homewards through a century of night.
I’ll set my course upon your lonely bed
And on your heartbeats my direction steer,
While like a star will shine avove my head
That glow of faith, that challenge to your fear.
Keep warm your arms, and when the invading ice
Licks at our leading edge it will recall
Only their warmth and that rich benefice
To which I am inducted after all.
Sleep long, sleep sound, and dream while I am gone
Of happiness past and yet to be
When this moon-crazy interlude is done
And we can live and love at liberty.
But if one morning when you awake you see
The flame has died like dreams that fall apart,
Light me a candle for my memory
And let it burn for ever in your heart.
Flt Lt O C Chave 1912/1943 XV Squadron killed night of 14th Feb 1943
One of the poems in Winged Victory ,Poems of a Flight Lieutenant by Ariel
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