A Reminder of Home

@owlwings (43915)
Cambridge, England
September 12, 2018 6:13am CST
A hundred years ago today, a young man - a poet and an artist - sat in his tent in a dusty and hot land far from home. He was just one small cog in a senseless and brutal machine. His job was to lay and maintain telephone lines so that General Allenby and others could communicate and coordinate the battle which would drive the Turkish army back and regain Bethlehem and Megiddo (the fabled site of the ancient battle of Armageddon) and the land around for the British army. Today was his 25th birthday. I don't know whether he remembered or whether he celebrated it (he wasn't one to make much of his own birthdays) and, no doubt, it was just another hot and dusty day like so many others. At that time, there was no country called Israel - it was named Palestine - and why the British were fighting there at all was never explained to me. Certainly, my father never talked about it much (for it was he who was in that tent). He wrote no memoir of his time in that war and he rarely talked about it, except to say that he never saw any action and that what he understood of it and heard later impressed him deeply for the rest of his life with the senselessness and futility of it all. In 1918, the war had not yet ended and it would be several months before all of the weary British soldiers were loaded onto troopships and came home to be demobbed. Many, like my father, would have been heartily homesick and this, I am sure, is one of the reasons why he wrote this poem in the first person plural. PALESTINE OH, we speak not overmuch Of the strange lands we have seen. Our eyes were not for such Very keen, And the sweetest thing we knew In a land of gaudy flowers Was a daisy, tipped with dew, — English! Ours!
23 people like this
21 responses
@LadyDuck (454939)
• Switzerland
12 Sep 18
A hundred years ago Israel did not exist, I have forgot this part of history, why were British soldiers in Palestine during the years of WWI? No matter what history tells, this poem is beautiful, I can almost see the simple daisy tipped with dew.
8 people like this
@owlwings (43915)
• Cambridge, England
12 Sep 18
In fact, Israel was created in 1948 (on May 14 to be exact), so it celebrated its 70th anniversary this year. The history of why the British were given mandatory rule over Palestine has a somewhat shameful and contentious end because we reneged on our promise to the Arabs that we would retain Arab independence in the area after driving out the Turks. Even in 1917, the idea of a "homeland for the Jews" was in existence but it wasn't realised until 31 years later, after the terrible events of the Second World War. The more I think about it, the more I realise how little I know about 20th Century history. History wasn't my favourite subject at school but I don't recall that we learnt anything very much about events after the 19th Century ended and politics (and war, especially) was hardly ever mentioned at home.
7 people like this
@topffer (42156)
• France
12 Sep 18
Palestine was a neighbor of Egypt, and in the Ottoman Empire who fought with Germany during WWI. More details about the English in Palestine in 1918 at the end of this article.
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia Jump to navigation Jump to search This article is about the 1917 battle. For other sieges of Jerusalem, see Siege of Jerusalem. For the battle between 1947 and 1948, see Battle for Jerusalem. Battle of JerusalemPart of
3 people like this
@LadyDuck (454939)
• Switzerland
12 Sep 18
@owlwings I did not like a lot to study history because it was all the time about wars. I remember the day Israel was created because the 14th of May is the birthday of my husband and Israel was created two years after he was born. His father was Jewish, but not born in Israel, of course.
3 people like this
@topffer (42156)
• France
12 Sep 18
Happy 125th birthday to your father, a poet lost in a war.
3 people like this
@owlwings (43915)
• Cambridge, England
12 Sep 18
'Lost', of course, only in the sense of 'manqué' rather than 'perdu', I think, otherwise I probably shouldn't have been born at the beginning of the second conflict.
3 people like this
@BarBaraPrz (45225)
• St. Catharines, Ontario
12 Sep 18
Lovely poem. Did your father write any others? And happy birthday to him, wherever he may be.
3 people like this
@owlwings (43915)
• Cambridge, England
12 Sep 18
Yes, he wrote (and published) quite a few poems and won some awards for them. Very few are directly about his time in the First World War but a number of them have echoes of the brutality and senselessness of war.
1 person likes this
@indexer (4852)
• Leicester, England
29 Sep 18
This was part of the campaign in which T E Lawrence (Lawrence of Arabia) made a name for himself by backing the Arabs against the Turks. The year before this poem was written, the British Government, through the famous (or maybe infamous) Balfour Declaration, had declared its support for a Jewish homeland in the land of Palestine, but it also stated that this was not to be at the disadvantage of the population already resident there - namely the Arabs. This second clause was completely ignored by the Jews who took advantage of this apparent support, with the results that we see down to the present day.
2 people like this
@owlwings (43915)
• Cambridge, England
29 Sep 18
That's exactly right. My father was under Allenby, not T.E. Lawrence. and I think that he admired Lawrence for his knowledge of and sympathy with the Arabs. At any rate, we had a copy of the first edition of "Seven Pillars of Wisdom" on the shelves (now sold a long time ago). It's mainly because of the Israeli attitude towards the Arabs living in Israel that I do not support British and American arms aid to Israel (though I mostly have a high regard for the country and for the people in other respects).
1 person likes this
@MALUSE (69428)
• Germany
12 Sep 18
I don't understand. "Today was his 25th birthday." Later you tell us that you've written about your father. He can't be 25!
1 person likes this
@owlwings (43915)
• Cambridge, England
12 Sep 18
The first paragraph sets the scene. One is expected to put oneself into the 'now' of 100 years ago. Thus, the second paragraph can begin with 'Today is ...' within that framework, meaning '100 years ago today'.
1 person likes this
@MALUSE (69428)
• Germany
12 Sep 18
@owlwings Obviously, I'm too dumb for such subleties.
2 people like this
@owlwings (43915)
• Cambridge, England
12 Sep 18
@MALUSE I think that you do yourself an injustice. 'Too logically-minded', perhaps. I take your first observation to heart, however. I should re-read what I've written in a week or so (or ask someone else with an equally critical mind to read it). It's quite possible that I wrote it with too little care.
@ilocosboy (45161)
• Philippines
12 Sep 18
I don't know, im not really good in excavating poems. My own interpretation, maybe your misses so much his country and dreamed he was there and see those daisy in bloom so beautifully. He woke and realize he was in Palestine and wrote those poem. Wild thinking me.
1 person likes this
@owlwings (43915)
• Cambridge, England
12 Sep 18
I believe that daisies do grow in Palestine (now Israel, of course). It is the surprise of seeing something so familiar growing in so foreign a land which inspired the poem, I think.
@owlwings (43915)
• Cambridge, England
13 Sep 18
@ilocosboy (45161)
• Philippines
13 Sep 18
But one thing for sure, the poem becomes good from the eye of the best poet. Daisies is the subject that relates to his country and the country where he is at that moment.
1 person likes this
@allknowing (130088)
• India
13 Sep 18
The presence of the British soldiers is not surprising. Their presence was global as far as my understanding goes. Any special memories you have of your father?
1 person likes this
@allknowing (130088)
• India
13 Sep 18
@owlwingsThe story of a loving father's relationship with his son would be worth lending a ear to.
1 person likes this
• China
12 Sep 18
The poem gives a good picture of how your father felt at that moment.The daisy with dew was thrown into sharp relief by the dusty and hot land and the thick smoke of gunpowder. not sure if it refers to the war below
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia Jump to navigation Jump to search Sinai and Palestine CampaignPart of the Middle Eastern theatre of World War I10.5 cm Feldhaubitze 98/09 and Ottoman artillerymen at Hareira in 1917 before the Southern Palestine offens
1 person likes this
@owlwings (43915)
• Cambridge, England
12 Sep 18
Yes, I believe that he was part of that campaign under General Allenby. I know very little, though, about his part in the war. I don't even know which regiment he was with.
1 person likes this
• Preston, England
1 Dec 18
a lovely poem. Your father sounds a very interesting man
1 person likes this
@jstory07 (133739)
• Roseburg, Oregon
17 Oct 18
That is a nice poem that he wrote.
1 person likes this
@PainsOnSlate (21854)
• Canada
25 Oct 18
That is a beautiful poem. I can't imagine what it was like 100 years ago and in a war too. And because my family has been in America since the Mayflower,I know nothing about your country , well almost nothing. I enjoyed reading this chapter.
1 person likes this
@owlwings (43915)
• Cambridge, England
25 Oct 18
I have only the faintest conception of what it was like in Palestine for him then. I do know that he never saw any 'action' and I believe that he was always thereafter somewhat ashamed of his part in that war - partly because he went into it (as many young men did) because he felt it his duty to do so, partly because he wasn't involved in the "nitty-gritty" as many of his friends and acquaintances were and partly because he saw the shamefulness and futility of it all and that, mostly, is what made him a confirmed pacifist for the rest of his life. We do, however, have this tiny snapshot of an insignificant, yet so significant, flower in the midst of it all which meant so much to a homesick (and, perhaps, somewhat bored) 'cog in the wheel' who was exiled in a foreign land.
1 person likes this
25 Mar 19
History records events of wars, conflicts, freedom and independence. On 2nd November 1917, the British Government promised to allow the Jews to set up a 'Jewish National Home' in Palestine. This promise,embodied in the Balfour Declaration, stimulated the Zionists to.put forward practical proposals. In Feb 1919, the Zionists Organization submitted its first territorial plan tobthe Paris Peace Conference. Tha plan was rejected. Your father, a war hero and a brave soldier who was there to protect and fight for (as promised) the Zionists, Jews, to regain back their home land, Israel. Such a beautiful poem your father and his fellow soldiers longed desperately for home in England. As English writer, Mark Twain described upon his visit of the land of Israel. "..... A desolate country whose soil is rich enough, but is given over wholly to weeds... a silent mournful expanse.... a desolation.... we never saw a human being on the whole route.... hardly a tree or shrub anywhere. Even the olive tree and the cactus, those fast friends of a worthless soil, had almost deserted the country." In 1948, after the Holocaust, the home-coming Jews who survived, rebuilt back their home, State of Israel. Your hero-father, if he were still alive, would have been rejoicing with the Jews from home, England. Sorry, I love history! I got carried away. Thanks for your time.
1 person likes this
@CarolDM (203478)
• Nashville, Tennessee
26 Oct 18
A beautiful poem. I cannot imagine 100 years ago.
1 person likes this
@Nevena83 (65287)
• Serbia
23 Nov 18
I do not know the history of Israel, Palestine, so I can not give a good comment, but the song is very emotional.
1 person likes this
@id_peace (14010)
• Singapore
12 Sep 18
The history of Israel is very complicated. In fact with the jews as the main citizen of Israel, shouldn't it be Jew instead of Israel consider that Israel is derived from Israelite.
1 person likes this
@amadeo (111956)
• United States
12 Sep 18
yes the poem is lovely there.
1 person likes this
@Missmwngi (12927)
• Nairobi, Kenya
21 Sep 18
He sure was a poet.
1 person likes this
@JudyEv (323672)
• Rockingham, Australia
13 Sep 18
That is a lovely poem and the style so typical of its time.
1 person likes this
@august18 (3908)
• Tunisia
25 Sep 18
Happy belated birthday to your father.
1 person likes this
@theend (2778)
• Gifu, Japan
14 Nov 18