The Boots that Came Home Alone by Holly, 7AP

These are the boots

That once marched sullenly through sinister streets

Past the tightly pulled shutters.

These are the boots

That remember the sticky sweat dripping slowly

Like the innocent reaching the end

Of their unlived lives.

These boots have left footprints of hope

Behind the blood-stained beaches.

These boots have survived

Through murky, soiled rivers

Drowned in repugnant, sticky mud.

These boots remember the dispirited soldiers

Fighting together through the worst.

These boots heard the blood-thirsty ringing of a bomb

Like a soldier’s life ticking away.

These boots remember the salty tears falling

When civilians realised

It was worthless wishing for their loved ones

To come home.

These are the boots

That have experienced it all.

The boots that fell before they could tell.

These are the boots

That came home,

Came home without an owner.