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 Jun 2019
Crow
what were the means by which
they came to wear a uniform
it is meaningless now

what was the color of their skin
in what manner did they speak
what was their music
what place was home

all that made them who they were
overshadowed now
by why they are gathered

wearing that uniform
standing in ranks
standing for their fellow
warrior beside them

giving to the final breath
for the most precious
gifts they themselves
had been given

family
whether family was
10,000 miles away
or next to them in a hole
in the dirt
so close each could feel
the others pounding heart

they are in ranks still

at Arlington
at Leavenworth
at Miramar
at Normandy
at Belleau
at Manila
at hundreds more
and unseen graves in
jungles and mountains
all around the world

ranks that will stand till
the earth itself changes
Written first for Memorial Day less than two weeks past. But I felt it appropriate for the 75th anniversary of D-Day as well.
 Jun 2019
Frank Russell
Intense loneliness
personifies itself
before inanimate walls

With a variety of
empathetic characters
to populate the room

Weaving and performing
an anxious dance
of justifications

For never permitting
vulnerability
to be exposed.



- fr
7/8/15
 Jun 2019
South-by-Southwest
"So what ?"

Is what I say to the troubling thoughts tumbling in me

"**** ! Did I say and do such an outrageous thing ?"

Yes you did and now it cannot be forgiven or ever outlived

No matter how many moans or sighs
No matter how many sleepless nights go by

It doesn't help to try and defend
You know deep inside you will never win

So I sit in the silence
In deeper than dark
I mull over and over
my history so stark

So roll on over
my tumble **** in thought
What I did do
and not what I ought
 Jun 2019
Anonymous Freak
A thin layer of dust
Has fallen over me.

Draped itself
Over the pathways in my brain,
Coated every toe,
Every pore,
Every inch of me.

I’ve put myself
Up on the shelf,
Closed a cupboard
Door
Over my individuality.

I’m just trying to survive right now.

It baffles me
That there are people in this world
Who just
Do
Things.
Just do things,
And only question if they want to,
Not agonize
Over whether or not
It’s the right thing,
If the action’s
Equal opposite reaction
Will destroy some aspect
Of themself,
Or others.

I question
Every moment
Whether I’m wrong,
If I’m hurting something.

It makes me afraid to move.

So I let dust collect
Over myself,
Perfectly good joints
Rust solid,
Eyes glaze over,
Body fossilizes.
Because that’s
So much easier,
Than picking myself apart,
Trying to be perfect.

It’s so much easier
To be nothing
Instead of
An impossible
Perfect something.
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