Screaming sirens

The sirens scream out over the villages and towns,

Men and boys trudge through the streets.

Eyes lined black, lungs congested, from the coal dust,

Snap boxes in their hands, steel tipped boots upon their feet.

Yet, still they smile.

Wives and mothers stand in the doorways,

To wave their loved ones “away now do you hear?”

Aprons donned for their day full of chores,

Their harsh work hard, not mere,

Yet, still they smile.

As the troops make their way through the colliery gates,

They turn back for a fleeting look,

At the wives and mothers they may never see again.

Theirs is a dangerous task, working in the mine full of muck

Yet, still they smile.

That day, a young one was crushed to death,

Beneath the collapsed coalface.

Poor child, he was only twelve, still a lad,

Should never have worked in that place

They smile no more.