As you walk on down the slope
past reflected years,
can you feel the once-bright hope
and hear the fallen tears?
Look behind each graven name;
please give them this small grace.
Lit by an eternal flame,
you will behold a face
whose eyes will dare to hold your gaze,
so dare not look away
and listen as the dead man says,
"Will you, on this sacred day
honour we who gave our all
to earn our place upon the Wall?"
The Five Minute Friday prompt this week is WANDER. Well, ok. Same theme.
As you walk through quiet gloaming,
can you hear the distant thunder,
and see all the ghosts a-roaming,
but where is it they wander?
Do they go to milkshake bars,
where lettermen would come together,
or glide among the souped-up cars,
a poison to dear mother?
Do they visit high-school fields
where they found early glory
before the war would come and steal
the ending to their story?
Just know the shades you walk among
had loved their lives, and they were young.
Five minutes, and I wouldn't change a word.
Music from the soundtrack to We Were Soldiers... the haunting Scots ballad 'Sgt. McKenzie'.
Sylvia just appreciates her ice cream.
I pray the soldiers aren't wandering in the silence of the countryside, but have found rest for their weary souls.
ReplyDeleteLisa, absolutely. I pray that the fallen have found peace, as well.
DeleteWe honor those who made the ultimate sacrifice.
ReplyDeleteSusan, so right. They deserve our honor, and sincere thanks.
DeleteThank you ((((Andrew))))
ReplyDeleteAnnie in Texas (daughter of WWII Navy Veteran)
((((((((ANNIE!))))))))
DeleteThank YOU, and your Dad!
Both poems are lovely and remind me how important it is to remember and honor those who have gone before with gratitude.
ReplyDeleteFMF#15
Kym, I'm so glad that these poems spoke to you.
DeleteSomber, yet hopeful. You always breathe life through your words. Thanks for sharing your gift through your pain. God bless!
ReplyDeleteVicki, there's always hope...even if it's just the hope that hope, somehow, exists.
DeleteBlessings back, and thank you!
Beautiful sonnets, Andrew.
ReplyDeleteThanks for sharing.
Grams, thank you so much for being here.
DeleteThanks for reminding us of the necessity of honoring those who have sacrificed for us in so many ways.
ReplyDeleteLinda, thank you in joining me here, to honour them.
DeleteTwo lovely poems. Each soul representing so many dreams and stories we will never known. Let's not forget them and what they did.
ReplyDeleteTheresa, thank you. Our freedom is built on so many lost hopes and dreams. They deserve to be remembered with love.
DeleteAndrew, thank you for these sonnets. I know you know some of those of whom you've written. Both poems are beautiful and poignant. I'm praying for you and Barb, my friend.
ReplyDeleteJeanne, yes... these do come from the heart of knowing.
DeleteWe're so grateful for your prayers!
"...before the war would come and steal the ending to their story." That line gripped my heart and made me think of a second-cousin who was in Viet Nam, just one day away from returning home. His ride out of that awful place was hit by enemy fire. I remember visiting my grandparents and listening as various family members told that story and shared their grief and how the joyous welcome home party had become a tearful funeral luncheon. I still think of him from time to time and wonder what would have been. Thank you, Andrew, for reminding us not to forget. ~ Cindie
ReplyDeleteOh, Cindie. That story tears the heart.
ReplyDeleteThank you for sharing it, and for putting a truly human face on the tragedy, and the need to honour, always, the lost.