Tale of Two Pipers

In a highland Scottish village, perched high on the range,
A blanket of mist descends for an atmosphere so strange,
Tommy on his way to school, hears a distant haunting sound,
A lament played on the bagpipes permeates the mist around,

Tommy listens with interest, caught up by an eerie distraction,
Music drifting through the air becomes an irresistible attraction,
That instant a new piper is born, a seed of passion being sewn,
Tommy decides to become a piper, his dice in life now thrown,

A devotion to pipe music, is embraced by an army of the time,
A pipe major of distinction, through the ranks he starts to climb,
A spectre of war raises its' head, the dreadful World War one,
The most god forsaken time in history, a purgatory had begun,

Men cowering in the trenches, a leader with inspiration needed,
Tommy started playing his pipes, with an air that brave men heeded,
They crawled out of a created grave, marched on to no-man's land,
Attacking an enemy, the sound of courage heard near at hand,

Tommy led from the front, his pipes instilling fear on a waiting foe,
Understanding that sound in childhood, his destiny was meant as so,
When a bullet ripped into his manly chest, receiving a mortal wound
He died playing the pipes he loved, a place in history now found,

Piper two

At the Battle of Loos, a Sergeant Laidlaw came to the fore,
Rejoining the army to assist his country in the Great War,
An experienced solder, with their respect he led his men on,
Teaching his troops the credo, self belief can be a battle won,

Trapped in their trenches, poisonous gasses making them choke,
His men fearing for their lives, such tenuous spirits nearly broke,
Beginning to see no way out, thinking “Is this how a brave man dies?”,
Toxic gas drifting over their heads, burning skin and stinging eyes,

Daniel Laidlaw knew that his men had an inner courage of mind,
He also knew his duty, the key to inspiration he now had to find
Emanating from the drones of his pipes stirring tunes born of pride,
A disregard for his own safety, he was their leader, and their guide,

Standing and playing atop the trench, marching back and forth,
He inspired by his courage giving his men a sense of worth,
Bravely following his lead, from the trenches they forged ahead,
Overpowering an enemy, in front a mighty piper played and led,

Over 500 pipers died in the Great War, very brave men one and all,
Signing up for the King's Shilling, to answer their country's call
Piper Daniel Laidlaw later was awarded the Victoria Cross.
Then1950 became heavens gain and sadly Scotland's loss

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