Always Remember

 

Paying respect at a Remembrance site in Bath, UK

 

 

Since Remembrance Day is near, I started reading one of my favourite war-related poetry books in my shelf. It is the ever-so engaging Because you Died by Vera Brittain. I bought this book about three years ago and as I re-read it now, I still find each poem ringing fresh and true.



Brittain is a British poet whose works focused mainly on pacifism and feminism. When her fiancée Roland died of wounds in the war, she began writing these soul-wrenching poetry at the age of 22. She also became a nurse and served during the war, and perhaps that is the reason why I love her writing even more. I am a nurse too and her simple yet eloquent poems are truly inspiring.

 



Because You Died by Vera Brittain

 This book contains poetry and prose, some of it never published before. It commemorates the death of Brittain's fiancé, brother, and two friends, as well as the hearts of the people broken by the war.

 

 

Brittain's poem, "Roundel"








My most favourite poem in this book must be "Epitaph On My Days In Hospital"

I found in you a holy place apart,
Sublime endurance, God in man revealed,
Where mending broken bodies slowly healed
My broken heart.