Waltz For George

For days and nights, ships of all kinds have plied to and fro across
The channel under the fierce onslaught of the enemy's bombers
Utterly regardless of the perils, to bring out as many as possible
Of the trapped BEF. There was every kind of ship that I saw coming
In this morning, and every one of them was crammed full of tired
Battle-stained, and blood-stained British soldiers. Soon after dawn
This morning, I watched a warship steaming in, one listing heavily
To port under the enormous load of men she carried on her decks
Transport officers counted the men as they came ashore. No question
Of units, no question of regiments, no question even of nationality
For there were French and Belgian soldiers who had fought side by
Side with the British in the Battle of Flanders. All of them were
Tired. Some were completely exhausted. I watched one man with eyes
Heavy with sleep, who limped along with painful feet because his
Boots hadn't been off for five days, and at his back a ukulele
Dangled from his haversack. But he still had enough kick in him to
Ask the sergeant for a seat facing the engine when he got on the
Train. Another man told me of how he'd been on the beach at Dunkirk
For three days with hundreds of his comrades waiting for a boat
Embarkation was often difficult because the pier had been bombed
And the ships could not get close enough in. So they joined the
Ships in boats and paddled in the water some of the way. As each
Ship came in, the army doctors at the port would shout out to the
Captain or the bridge to ask for the number of wounded. Within a
Few minutes the ambulances and the stretchers would be alongside
To bring them off and take them to the waiting hospital trains at
The station. The organization of the port was excellent. The ships
Were being unloaded at an astonishing speed. On the station I
Watched the men climbing into the long waiting trains. It was
Astounding to walk along carriage after carriage full of soldiers
And to find in each one silence. And so the men of the BEF came home