Italy to Austria

We knew that peace had come
When driving down the steady tree lined road -
No traffic jam of tanks and guns
Or silent men on foot.

No long delays
When urgent jeeps would slip between:
No bridges blown,
No signs to say that dust brings shells
Or maddeningly roughly-worn diversions -

We knew that peace had come
Because the convoys one by one
Clocked by at leisured speed,

And in the fields
The trucks were parked in squares
Patiently awaiting their return
After the dust and thunder of the years.