In The Light Of

Barbed wire on the beaches Shrapnel in the streets Blackout curtains at the windows Keeping in the light Down the air raid shelter Huddled under the stairs Hiding like rats in a cellar A candle for a light A screaming sound then silence The bomb exerts its force Destroying an entire street In one flash of light The A.R.P. stands watching Alert and on patrol For a second they do nothing Blinded by the light With calloused hands they dug To free the injured folk As firemen aimed there hoses high To douse the blazing light Many didn't make it And many tears were shed Prayers were said to guide them In God's eternal light Upon the news of the surrender Fireworks lit the sky Bonfires burned and beacons blazed In defiant light No air raid warning sounded Folk slept safe in bed And new horizons beckoned With the dawning of the light