Dead Man’s Penny*
Bronze plaque,
government issue
cold token for King and Country
name impressed,
a shipping clerk not coming home,
metal light on heavy loss,
cold weight.
* “Dead Man’s Penny” was the informal name for the British First World War memorial plaque sent to the families of those killed in service. Cast in bronze and about five inches (12 cm) across—closer to a small plate than a coin—it bore only the name of the dead, with no rank, emphasizing equality in death. Around 1.3 million were issued, accompanied by a commemorative scroll. The Britannia with a lion and the inscription “He died for freedom and honour” combines the language of officialdom with with a heavy, impersonal token of loss.
They had a mixed reception. Some families sent them back. The example in the photograph was sent to my grandmother for the loss of her husband Lance Corporal Frank Herbert Sims.
This is Leslie Scoble’s W3#204 prompt posted by David at The Skeptics’s Kaddish explained here: W3#204
Featured image includes: The Cemetery, Etaples, John Lavery, 1919; Supporting troops of the 1st Australian Division walking on a duckboard track, Frank Hurley, 1917, and my own photo.
Josie, you’ve captured history and war-time loss with such clarity. Every line feels weighted with meaning, and in a beautifully minimalistic way. This cameo touched my heart.
Thanks Lesley.
A restrained, precise, and deeply affecting write Josie 👏
Thanks Shaun
Josie, it just proves that war is senseless! A well done poem and I learned something as well!
It maybe that war is sometimes necessary. But it always involves losses that are incalculable.
If wars were only fought as a defense then no one would go to war… it usually is about resources no days…
That’s certainly a component. And a big one. The struggle for resources/ territory and the power that comes from that.
Sometimes it is about basic survival.
I am reminded of this often repeated truism about the Middle East: “If the Arabs stopped fighting there would be peace. If the Israelis stopped fighting there would be no Israel.”
As always – it is complicated.
Very, very, very interesting, Josie; and perfectly composed too!
Much love,
David
Thanks David. I always work hard on the composition once i have my thoughts and feeling together. Poetic form matters even with ‘free verse”. It’s one of the (many) things that differentiates the great from the rest of us!
One can only imagine what it felt like to receive one of these. Thank you for the background, Josie. Powerful and sobering poem.
It was a well intended gesture that may well have fallen short for some families whose losses felt beyond compensation. A bit like medals and other memorial items that were manufactured. i am sure someone has written eloquently on this memorialisation of the dead – the memorials that worked and those that missed the mark for many.
Heavy poem, Josie! Well done!
Yvette M Calleiro 🙂
http://yvettemcalleiro.blogspot.com
Thanks Yvette. This medallion has only just now come into my possession. The reason for that weighs heavier than the medallion itself. What happens to it next?
painful loss for those who fought for freedom and those who stayed home and waited praying for their loved ones return… i had no idea that the government distributed the coins/plates… today we place in the window those who lost a love one… it is an American flag with a gold star… i cry whenever i see one.. i find myself slowing down and saying a prayer…
Wars – going to war, reasons for war, justifications for war, consequences of war – is always so complicated. Thanks ms pie.
‘metal light on heavy loss’ is a brilliant line to sum up how that token might make one feel.
This is such a wonderful touching piece.
Thank you Indira.
Thanks for the comment Ange. It’s interesting (to me) that my mother – who mourned the loss of this man throughout her life – was happy to see this this ‘penny’ languishing on a dirty shelf in the garage which is where my brother found it decades ago now. It was a token that did not quite ring true for many people.
Wonderful piece- the phrase ‘metal light on heavy loss’ suggests both the literal glimmer of the plaque and the fact that no amount of commemorative metal can lighten the burden of the death especially for their loved ones 🩷