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My Dad's Suitcase
by
Gillian Grant
(Daughter of a FEPOW)
Lovingly dusted, like a shrine to the past
The battered old suitcase has a story to tell
A soldier's photo stands nearby
Called up to fight for his country
He is yet to suffer on the Railway of Hell
The case holds memories from a pre-war life
Family weddings, a seaside holiday
Mothers and sisters, long dresses, funny hats
Father dozing, brothers-in-law clowning
They've never heard of the Death Railway
More family photos, forgotten faces
Call up papers, a country at war
An army paybook, a shabby notebook
A letter sent to the family at home
Regret, reported missing in Singapore
Letters and photos sent after the war
Of a Straits Volunteer he'd met overseas
Family groups at their Singapore home
They'd been badly treated as all of them were
Their homeland raped by the evil Japanese
No family photos from those FEPOW years
No cards or letters from that far eastern hell
No happy memories from the Railway of Death
Only nightmares remain from those wasted years
I need no reminding, I will not forget
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