many were boys
when they went off to war
some to never return
now it seems strange to come here
to this place of memorial
and realize
it will be old women
who might sit
remembering someone
perhaps still shedding a tear
old women with gray hair
like me
(These photos are from the 11th, the actual Veterans Day, a date to remember Veterans, chosen because it was Armistice Day for World War I. Sunday I was at Newport and like to come to this place, to remember for a moment the war that my generation fought, a war that many didn't like, some blamed the soldiers who mostly didn't want to go either but did their duty.when they went off to war
some to never return
now it seems strange to come here
to this place of memorial
and realize
it will be old women
who might sit
remembering someone
perhaps still shedding a tear
old women with gray hair
like me
We should honor the soldiers and always remember freedom didn't come without cost nor can it be held lightly because there is always someone willing to take it away. I do not believe no war is necessary. I do believe we should never fight one that isn't because the cost is steep for those who are asked to give it all-- both for those who die and those who will forever mourn their loss.)
2 comments:
You say it so well, rain. Yes, I also don't believe that no war is necessary, but that we should be able to discern the necessary fight from the unnecessary one. But whichever war a soldier is asked to fight, they always give it all they've got, even their last breath. I'm glad veterans are honored today and everyday.
And the fallout comes in odd ways for a long time. After WWI there were so many English women who never married because the men of their generation had been decimated again and again. They lived alone and with each other and had cats. And the cats caught mice and rats. And there was a shortage of mice for the raptors to catch. Just amazing. We go to war, and decades later hawks suffer.
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