There‘ll be black humour today,
Gentle ribbing, banter and jokes,
Stripping away of egos, repartee
Among our mixed group of folks.
Bruising conversations maybe,
But in a non malicious way.
No place for the thin skinned
That's just not how we play.
It's the way it's done from
First moment of greeting
It's our irregularly held
Veteran's Breakfast meeting.
Just a couple of hours
Of banter forces style
Carrying each back
For just a little while
To much younger times
From a very different past
When each passing day
Could have been the last.
Some of us are damaged
But none of us are broken,
Some carry hurt in their eyes
From experiences unspoken.
Some have seen combat,
Still carry mental scars
From frontline service in
The country's various wars.
Some fought with a rifle
One fought with a pen
Each gave part of their life
As an active serviceman
The Padre's not a Veteran
But we've known him years
He's earned out respect as he's
Listened to our hopes and fears.
A range of ages gathered
For a morale boosting talk,
We've all worn the uniform
We've all walked the walk.
There are common experiences
That each of us have had,
We've been there for each other
In the good times and the bad.
It's a meeting of brothers
And we all know what to expect,
Ruthless character assassination
But with affection and respect.
We'll all be looking forward to,
Though not knowing when,
We'll receive our invitation
To meet up and yarn again.
We'll shake hands goodbye
Making the occasion complete
Feeling emotional benefit from
Our irregular breakfast meet
