Poems, Personal Stories, and Observations

Posts tagged ‘Memorial Day’

Memorial Day 2025

Outdoors we gather, amongst the silent graves,
Bedecked with flags, each soldier’s resting place.

I sit in silence, waiting for Mass to begin;
Unearthly cicada sounds, the only din.

Just before, sev’n planes flew overhead,
Not to bomb, but to plume their smoke instead.

The bagpipes played “Amazing Grace” —
I weep, but not just grieving tears —

There’s joy that soldiers may be in a better place,
Taking advantage of God’s grace.

I have no words for those who were so brave,
Or perhaps unwittingly went to grave.

I cry for all the lost and all the dead,
For any harmed by war’s sick dread.

The sun, the warmth, is healing on my skin.
I pray, that through our pain, we all will heal again.

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The Fates of War

I was once your enemy;
The fates of war
Placed us on opp’site sides —
We had our pride.

We had a cause,
We gave not pause –
Our cause was just –
To fight we must.

Sure those in power
Were not always right,
But many focused
For loved ones to fight.

The many fallen,
The dead, the suffering,
The broken hearts,
The shrapnel puncturing …

The refugees,
The enemy aliens,
The lost, the forgotten;
The orphans taken in.

And then it ends;
We pick up the pieces.
We must forgive,
Or hatred increases.

In the end, the good will win,
Despite our many, varied sins.
And in every conflict, however grave,
If we want the same, we must forgive.

(Memorial Day, 2016)

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Will There Be Freedom? (Memorial Day Weekend, 2016)

Flags on porches,
A warm, lazy day.
A party next door;
I hear music play.

On Facebook the pictures
Of soldiers so brave.
They’re not having picnics —
On duty they stay.

Summer is starting,
Graduations abound.
But will there be freedom
The next time around?

Sometimes I get lazy
On these holidays,
But I look up the history
Of men who were brave.

So many memories
Of summers are found.
The power to do good
Is freedom profound.

People are traveling,
The summer’s the time,
But will there be freedom
The next time around?

 

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