Crosses white, poppies red,
Remember how, remember when
Pale petals fell from blooming roses,
And padded paths where freedom goes.

Fierce fires doused a would be hate,
To quench dry hearts, yours and mine.
Their love and duty burned paper chains
That shackled in war time.

Wise eyes, bright minds, aged souls, young hearts,
Traded rockers for grassy beds;
Gave up gray for blue-black youth,
Now honoured among the dead.

The rose that's guarded by the thorn,
Against the reach of many hands,
Does the same in all God's lands:
Yet still the life sap flows.

This time of year is here again,
But remember how, remember when
Fading pulses beat taps then.
Remembrance Day must never end.

i will never know your name,
or your face,
or the loved ones you left behind,
or the people you helped -
and saved.
i will never know what it was like,
running into that place,
unsure if you would be coming out.
i will never know the torture of those last moments,
when you finally knew that you'd be coming home sooner than planned,
only to be buried in the ground.
i will never fully understand your sacrifice,
but i hope that you know just how grateful i am.
Thank You.

Why are our soldiers dying?
While their unborn children are crying
A nation plays, ignoring their pain
Dreaming only of personal and capital gain
Our anger has become numb
We are blind, deaf and dumb
We sleep, secure inside the fortress
His memory, filling an empty mattress
Where the dreams of a soldier remain
Never knowing if they were in vain
Instead they remain a faceless pawn
To be used by those who are wrong
While the sheep continue to wander
Unknowing in the fields only to squander
Our knowledge and ability to alter
A nation’s soul, so we continue to falter
On the path to progressive enlightenment
And instead living a life that is abhorrent
To the whole of mankind and its ideals
Refusing to grant audience to the appeals
Of the weakest among us all
Who historically take the fall
For the ambitions of the soulless ones
Trample upon the bones of our sons
Diluting the water of courage
Creating an atmosphere to discourage
The rising of righteousness as we should
To band together in a peaceful brotherhood
Of good Samaritans praying for equality
And to end the marriage of life and frivolity
For within a man of peace has become death
And within our hearts remain his last breath

freckle-faced
     jug-eared
          left-handed
skinny as a fungo bat
loose-jointed
     like a string-puppet
in sports  
     not great but
          scrappy and fun
long distance runner
     played hard
          no grudges
nobody’s idea of handsome
     voice like a scratchy record
married straight out of high school
     drafted
101st Airborne
     everybody had a dumb nickname
          Denny, Little Old Lady
               nobody remembers why
     Thua Thien, South Vietnam
          hit by an RPG
               August 5, 1968
smithereens in a body bag
days later, a letter
     informs
          he’s a daddy
Denny, if you’d lived sixteen more days
     you could’ve legally bought beer
I’m sixty-seven years old
     you’re forever
          almost twenty-one
    
Memorial Day 2015
We've lost them by the thousands.  
We grieve them one by one.

I wish I could show you,
I wish I could thank you,
and say how much you mean to me.
I wish I could hold your hand and run with you, so I can see you're free.
If I could, I'd bring you back,
and give your loved ones a day;
for you to say you love them,
you've made the ultimate sacrifice -
and after it all, it's all okay.
I hope you know the marks you've made, although you can no longer be here.
I pray you rise with the sun everyday
in all of the ones you hold so dear.
I see you're still there in every sunset, every star, and in the sky.
For my own rights, and all of us -
you held your head so high.
A soldier's promise, the ultimate sacrifice, and their family's inevitable pain.
Through all the heartbreak, there is pride and love, and certainly, no shame.
Our brothers and sisters, most courageous and fearless, men and women of the United States.
America would not be
"The land of the free"
without the undeniably brave.
So please take this, simply,
as a thank you
for taking the fall.
I've got you all in my heart,
and in my prayers tonight,
I'll end them with
"Liberty and justice for all."

O, Traveller
They were glorious
Our boys in gray
Tho the blue carry this day
We shan't forget
No, never.

O, Traveller
Did you see them march
To beating drum
To smoke and fire
Our boys in gray
We shan't forget
No, never.

O, Traveller
This rain and mud
Virginia awaits in sorrow
The day is gray
For our boys
We shan't forget
No, never.

r ~ 5/26/14