driving east

along m46

though richville

kingston sandusky

after sunset

christmas eve

passing sleeping

fields surrounding

farm homes

with living

rooms dimly

aglow by

christmas trees

shining brightly

though windows

of frosted

glass framed

by darkness

an only

light for

miles around

why, why, why, why, why,
simply, i only ask why,
never an answer

a few days after
graduation i was gone,
many miles away
working a summer career
engraving horseshoes
upon a tourist island,
four years of college
a job in another state
finally back home
eleven years absent,
but this home, this world
and i separately changed
gone were childish dreams
replaced with bills, marriage,
and responsibilities

marking autumn's close
endless shadows of bare trees
lay on sleeping lands

a tradition rite was born
thanksgiving dinner
with friends and family
many years back

preformed the night before;
bread ripped and torn,
potatoes peeled then mashed,
vegetables cooked, simmered

rising early thanksgiving day,
joining other kitchens aglow,
cleaned and started a turkey was
well before golden rays shown

stuffed with stuffin'
fashioned of bread, spices,
celery, onions, a touch of lemon,
warmed bacon grease drizzled

slipping back into bed
awakened later by
wonderful scents
warming the house

friends and family arrived with
plates to share, plates to pass;
corn casserole,
sweet potatoes and jello salad,
pies of apples, cherries, pumpkin

squash, cranberry sauce
sweet pickles, rolls
peas, carrots, green beans
garnish and mix on every plate

extra tables were set about
as large gatherings would require;
chairs came borrowed
then dad said grace

obsolete extra tables slowly became
new commitments arose,
less chairs became needed
for attending guests

until two just remained
a wife, a husband with hungry cats,
still enjoying thanksgiving day
all the same

giving thanks
for what they have received,
cherished friends, loving families
a full life together

three wonders

as a family. we took a trip to washington dc in the year 1968. the year it burned. the year i turned 9.

i carry memory fragments of that trip. washington monument. lincoln memorial. mount vernon. the smithsonian. national guard troops stationed about.

most importantly our solemn visit to Arlington National Cemetery. a hallowed land far removed from the chaos engulfing an outside world.

from that day i carry memory bits of three wonders.

endless white headstones in neat rows.

the grave and the eternal flame of President John F. Kennedy. it would be seven years later while in dallas we would stand where he was assassinated.

watching The Changing of the Guard at The Tomb of the Unknown Soldier.

all witnessing stood silent and still. any sounds came from the guards. giving orders. acknowledging orders. presenting firearms.

once completed the crowd slowly went their ways to other parts of Arlington.

i have wondered what my father was thinking. how he felt silently standing there. it had only been 23 years since his service had ended with world war two’s conclusion.

probably of the guys he knew that never made it back now buried at Arlington. the ones that had made it home but are also buried there. that he could have known the pacific theater Unknown. thoughts of the world he had helped save. how much it had changed since his childhood. how much it had changed since the war’s end.

he never said. i never asked.

i was 9 years and a tourist. unable to understand or know the importance or magnitude of all that i saw that day.

i am in awe knowing the painstaking work continues of identifying our fallen heroes. those lost during service to their country. relentlessly searched for. finding and identifying. for they have not been forgotten.

one of them being the Unknown from the vietnam war. a family was given the ability to gain some sense of closure.

that is progress.

major progress will be achieved once sons and daughters no longer have to fight. leaving terrified mothers, fathers, wives, and husbands behind to wonder.

no more wars. no more Unknowns.

for freedom they fought
in Arlington they now rest
known to god above

blue skies, azure waves
tan sand, red and orange clouds
hues of florida