By Barb Whitmarsh
Bayou City ll Branch, Texas
The grass is damp with crystalline dew
Orderly white gravestones
They’re wet too
The flags are lowered
Until dawn
What leaps past it all?
A tiny fawn
Innocence growing bolder
Not a chance
For our lost soldiers
With lives ahead
No matter what for
But they were taken
In chaotic war
Cry, yes cry, spill your tears
Life moves forward
For many years
And if you cannot
Bow in prayer
Show in some other way
You care
Whisper endearing words
That many dear brothers
Never heard
Pat some markers
No matter the ranks
For all we can truly give —
Is thanks
Thank you for this thoughtful and timely poem. My favorite part is the line about patting some markers. The image is so kind and loving, and it adds a tactile element that gives the poem more weight. I hope you will find somewhere to share this poem again next Memorial Day, as it deserves to be read many more times.
appropriate for this time of year….even giving silent thanks honors those who’ve protected our freedoms
A truly remarkable poem with kind and compassionate wording to honor our fallen members of our armed forces.
Beautiful beautiful.