ANDREW LITTLEJOHN
Caught in the Midst
Oil on canvas
65 x 45cm
While I wasn’t drawn into a conflict the scale my grandfathers knew, it is looking as if our children may not be so fortunate. She’s strong, within her are the same values, ethos and sense of duty to serve of any before – but that doesn’t make it any easier.
Feeling the echoes of a Cold War’s chill,
The weight of a boulder to push uphill.
The stage shifts, and conflict’s shadow on the rise,
In this dance of great powers, our near future surmised.
My daughter, cloaked in her great-grandfather’s attire,
Wears the wartime jacket, a legacy’s signifier.
Symbolic threads connecting past to now,
In her small frame, a soldier’s spirit somehow.
A jacket worn by a soldier of before,
Transforms on her, into a tale to explore.
In its fabric, whispers of the battles long past,
A bridge between eras, and a connection forecast.
As geopolitical currents whirl and twist,
Three great powers entwined in an enigmatic rift.
A soldier of tomorrow in yesterday’s guise,
Time’s tapestry, repeating before your eyes.
Feel my apprehension, a poignant chord,
Guiding her, to hold a sword?
A dance of innocence and impending strife,
Balancing on the cusp of a transformative life.
