War Bonds

In April 1998 I went to a reunion of my Dad's World War II Army unit.

I wrote this poem solely for that occasion, and recited it to a room full of those WWII veterans.

WAR BONDS

never before had we faced such a fear

or held a union quite so strong

leaving behind our loved ones as they shrank away from sight

leaving home, God knows for how long

duty, honor, country, family

most precious of these, the last

for when the others' fabrics fade

this unconditional love is all we have

lives yet to begin depended on our survival

as well as the lives spawned from those

the threads of an entire generation

unwound, mated to the material, neatly sewn

there were men there from every walk of life

from the corner bar to a foreign battlefield

we dug ourselves in and we charged at full cry

with bravery and faith as our shield

dusty, dirty, ragged, worn and tired

our boots slowly sang in unified cadence

our minds adrift across the ocean

where wives and mothers prayed for strength and patience

the night's illuminations that chilled our flesh

were not like those of a celebratory early July

no, they simply stole away our dreaming hours

and seemed to ridicule and punish our starry sky

to fight, to defend, to protect, to preserve

to give our very life without question

we raised our rifles to our eyes

to kill men going in that very same direction

and when our bullets found their targets

a haunting elation prevailed

the smoky quiet cleared and those of us alive

were thankful that we had failed

we failed because Thou Shalt Not Kill

we rose from the mud to breathe anew

but somehow, we were doing God's will

a job well done by the chosen few

from a date which lives in infamy

to Arlington's sea of white stone

the deliverance that some never taste

is now and ever shall be our own

even though mine eyes have seen the glory

and even though lives were laid down by my side

my heart soars like an eagle and I am overcome

just to know you and to share your sense of pride

now, in our aging years, we share these memories of stone

surreal events that fractured a divided world

crippled cities

twisted bodies

red sand

sad sack

kilroy

war bonds