Roberta Writes – 5 pieces by Robbie Cheadle on Chewers by Masticadores #poetry #death

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Nolcha Fox has kindly shared 5 pieces of my poetry in response to her call for poems about death.

This poem is my personal favourite and was written in the style of In Flanders Fields by John McCrae. You can read his poem here: https://www.poetryfoundation.org/poems/47380/in-flanders-fields

In Flanders Cemeteries (freestyle)

In Flanders cemeteries lie thousands of skeletal remains
The tragic atmosphere heightened by the wind’s soft refrain
The final resting place of a generation of young men
You’d think mankind would’ve learned between now and then
Not long ago, yet forgotten as the Devil’s temptations corrupt

~

Within the petals of each gorgeous summer bloom
I see the watching eyes of the brave who met their doom
Those who made the ultimate sacrifice to keep us free
Their countless graves shaded by the gently blowing trees
Were their deaths in vain as red continues to stain the earth?

~

Why can’t we learn that war begets naught but pain and death
Little is gained by countless lips drawing their last breaths
The ghostly faces of our collective future, many in their late teens
Bear the careworn features of those whose lives ended in screams
Every leader should stand silent before these memorials and reflect

You can read the other four poems here: https://chewersmasticadores.wordpress.com/2025/09/15/5-pieces-by-robbie-cheadle/

My charcoal and pencil drawing of a war cemetary
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Published by robertawrites235681907

I am a writer of young adult fiction and poetry

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59 thoughts on “Roberta Writes – 5 pieces by Robbie Cheadle on Chewers by Masticadores #poetry #death”

  6. “In Flanders Cemeteries” is VERY powerful and poignant, Robbie. Why does war keep happening? Obviously, the rich and powerful amass money and political advantage from it, and make sure they and their families are not doing any of the fighting and dying. (I realize I’m not telling you anything you don’t know.)

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