Burleigh Longboard Club
Anzac Day Dawn Surface
Below is a poem written by digger Max Turner and given to the club, it's read every year at the presentations and every year after it's read there's not a dry eye in sight.
The "Last Post' haunting bugle notes Hung sadly in the air. A Veteran wiped tears from his eyes, And read the tributes there. He slowly wandered through the park, And thought "What can I do?" Just for the present he was young, too. "its ANZAC Day allday" he thought."its to soon to go home'. He sat down on a park bench. He, and his thoughts, alone.
Twas then he saw assembled. A group of younger folk. He saw the logo on their shirts And thought 'is this a joke?" He felt a sadness in his heart, And thought "They just don't care". The logo "Dawn Surfers", And they all had surf boards there. "How can they show such disrespect. For such a special day?" He'd been at the "Dawn Service". He stood up to walk away.
A man then left the gathered throng, And stopped him with a smile. "We noticed you have medals on.Will you be here for a while?. We are the "Burleigh Long-board Club". Our events are under way, And we dedicate this meeting To the "Vets", and Anzac Day. We have a special trophy, Designed to mark the day, And we'd like you to present it, "If you have the time to stay".
The old man stopped then in his tracks.His face beamed in a smile. "This trophy says it all" he said. "I'll stay around awhile" The trophy, it was beautiful. Each service honoured there. To the winner he presented it, And felt emotion flare. He said "Can I say one more thing? Then I'll be on my way. It's an honour and a privilege. To been with you today"
© Max Turner 1997
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