Last night I saw Cassino bombed again
Bombed and blasted
Obliterated gone
Pulverised and pounded
Smashed to smithereens
A head-on clash
The Ally and the Hun
The monastery was built again
Beautiful to see
High up on a hill
It sits serene
But the men who fought to capture her
Lie dead around her feet
The cemeteries
An ever-silent scream
Two men met in that monastery
A German and a Pole
Mortal foes
They met on holy ground
A life-long friendship then began
Each year they journeyed back
To see again
The place were friends were found
I visited in Cassino
Back in ‘83
I saw the town and abbey on the hill
I sat in silence by the graves
So many died from far and wide
A congregation all assembled here
They sing a silent hymn today
O you who visit stop and pray
And learn the lesson
Love must conquer fear
Brian Fahy
3 September 2021
Erris Poetry 