I place white flowers
on the grave
of one young soldier
boy who gave
his life, my own and
yours to save,
to honor him.
Though I may not
in fact agree
this war is a
necessity,
he bravely fought to
keep us free.
I honor him.
And as I watch the
mothers cry
in anguish while their
children die,
there is not one who
questions why
we honor them.
The bravery with
which they fought
to buy the freedom
others sought
came from within,
could not be taught.
We honor them.
The question I would
ask is for
the leaders who have
chosen war:
How many men must
die before
you honor them?
Note: The photo accompanying this original poem was taken at a Civil War reenactment at Magnolia Mound Plantation, Baton Rouge, Louisiana, in November 1997.
I read some where, old men make war and young men fight and die.
ReplyDeleteI think this is a bad war maybe no war is good but I feel sorry for the mothers and wives who lost their young men.I see on tv a lot anymore about Harry Truman did wrong by droping the a bomb on japan but i figure that it saved my fathers life because he was going to have to go to tokyo next so i am not sorry he droped the bomb.
There are no "one-size-fits-all" solutions, are there, Patsy?
ReplyDeleteWhat a very moving poem and tribute.
ReplyDeleteSo many men, just so many numbers to those who send them to fight their wars when often it is just greed and politics disguised as humanitarian. We never learn.
Enjoyed reading your site. Very interesting.
Sandy
Thanks, Sandy. I'm glad you came to visit.
ReplyDelete