For those men and women now silent
who stood in the cold night
To those who combed the deserts and those
who gave their lives
For those who fought shoulder to shoulder in fears and blood
And danced with death in chilling dawns
who froze in winters bitter breath

For those who laid in the trenches who whispered of peace
and muttered of hopes and home to be
Right nor wrong holds no place on this day,
For thee stepped up, for thee stepped forward
For those who chose to defend and those who didn’t this country I call home

── And we shall remember all of thee

For those men women and children who ran from bombs
For those who sat in air raid shelters huddled together
heads bowed in prayer who whimpered charred
and shook with fear
For the eyes that witnessed the fires
that consumed homes in its wake
The agonized violet waiting,
the smell of streaming fires and flesh across the skies
The piercing sirens and bombs exploding in the night
To those who carved out hardships and rations
To those who gave when there was none
For those who lay unnamed in silent graves
I give to thee all names on this dawn

── For without your lives given and taken I would have none.

To those who starved and were plagued in poor health,
I give thanks today for the medicines and hospitals
I thank thee for my life to sit in silence and for the abundances
For my choices to eat food and drink clean water
For the clear skies and this beautiful life.

── For my democratic rights were given to me

For the democracy to choose and for the freedom
And those who stand today shoulder to shoulder
Army, Navy, Air Force, and our four legged friends
“We Serve” in naming but a few

Starched on this day are uniforms, medals and buckles sparkling boots spit polished to gleam
For those now grey in repose in chairs and aided to stand to attention to salute comrades fallen

To the fallen thee died not in vain not through these eyes
Tis we who salutes each of thee in thanks on this day

── our day of Remembrance.

©ASPAR (A Sol Poet Arnay Rumens) 2017