For Family

“Were you in the war, Grandpa?” Tommy queried.

“Yes, I was, son,” he said. “Why do you ask?”

“Mommy says war is bad, she says it’s evil.”

“Yes, son, it is. It’s a horrible task.”

 

“Does that mean you’re bad, Grandpa? Why did you go?”

“It’s hard to explain,” he said, “But let me try”

Hard to defend why the young and the innocent

Rush to a cause where so many might die.

 

“Nobody wants war,” he says with a sigh, “but

Sometimes you just have no choice.

When enemies threaten the ones you love

Someone must stand to give them a voice.

We have to protect. We need to defend

Against those who would take our freedom away.

You’re young and it’s a mystery right now,

But you’ll grow and you’ll understand someday.”

 

He paused for a moment, then softly he spoke.

“I’ll tell you one thing for sure that is true.

You want to know why I fought in the war?

I did it for family.

I did it for you.”

 

A Grateful Nation

A grateful nation welcomes home her heroes

When the fight is done,

Reaching deep to heal the wounds of war

So they might carry on.

 

A grateful nation mourns the loss of

Those who paid the final price,

Comforts those they left behind

In honor of their sacrifice.

 

A grateful nation knows that freedom

Must be bought by blood and sweat.

Forging on with confidence,

No second guessing, no regrets.

 

A grateful nation prays, although the gift

Is oft misunderstood.

A psalm of praise to one on high

Whose grace provides all that is good.

 

A grateful nation will not falter,

Will not waiver on its course,

Seeks to lift the people’s spirit,

Moving on with no remorse.

 

A Grateful Nation

A grateful nation welcomes home her heroes

When the fight is done,

Reaching deep to heal the wounds of war

So they might carry on.

 

A grateful nation mourns the loss of

Those who paid the final price,

Comforts those they left behind

In honor of their sacrifice.

 

A grateful nation knows that freedom

Must be bought by blood and sweat.

Forging on with confidence,

No second guessing, no regrets.

 

A grateful nation prays, although the gift

Is oft misunderstood.

A psalm of praise to one on high

Whose grace provides all that is good.

 

A grateful nation will not falter,

Will not waiver on its course,

Seeks to lift the people’s spirit,

Moving on with no remorse.

 

Basic Soldier

Not for glory, fame or fortune,

Not for gratitude or praise

The basic soldier serves in silence

With a watchful steely gaze.

 

Not a slave to needless causes,

Just a cog on grinding gear that

Keeps the locomotive charging forward

Without doubt or fear.

 

Some may speak of God and country,

Friends and family, hearth and home,

But when the bombs of battle rage

The soldier never stands alone.

 

Brothers bold and sisters stoic,

Banded by a single bond,

Sing the same brave song of freedom

Marching, marching ever on.

 

Hail and greet the basic soldier.

Millions now, millions then,

Millions when their cause is noble.

Shall we see their like again?

 

Old Veteran

Reposed in silence, back to the wall

Reflecting on those glory days

He can’t forget, won’t forget til end of time,

Searching reason without rhyme.

 

Shoulders not so broad as then,

Stooped forward in an awkward sway

Except for when Old Glory passes

In review as Souza plays.

 

Grizzled chin and wrinkled brow belay

The swagger known in youth when

Worlds were open, energy unbound and

Fear an unknown truth.

 

Answering the call to service he

Never stopped to question fears

Even though he knew his choice would

Bring his mother lakes of tears.

 

Raspy voice, much slower now reflects

The glory known to few

Of battles fought, brothers lost,

Fears recalled as darkness grew.

 

Let any who might need to know rush

To seek his sage advice.

There is wisdom from experience,

The offspring of self-sacrifice.

 

Where Were You? 9/11/2001

Faced with a typical Tuesday morning,

No drama on the workday schedule.

Arriving early in a caffeine stupor and

Ready to tread in tempestuous seas.

 

The news arrives slowly, trickling in:

A plane, a building, small tragedy brewing.

No thought of terror or hell-bent insanity.

That kind of thing doesn’t happen here.

 

And then it does –

A second catastrophe

Man-made in vengeance –

            No logic, no mercy.

And now a third and yet a fourth.

How many furies fly? How many innocents

Yet to perish ‘ere the nightmare resolves?

How many unanswered questions arise?

We watch, we wait, we pray for fair outcome,

But dread obscures hope in a sickening mist.

 

And then the sky comes tumbling down,

First one then the other in fury and fire.

And the world stops turning as the toll keeps rising.

We stand in stunned silence, shivering, numb.

 

Our resolve ferments as the dust starts to settle.

We seek understanding but grasp only air.

Today we will grieve seeking out bitter comfort.

Tomorrow the serpent – A duty to pay.

 

For Those Who Wait… and Weep

It is not just the soldier who goes to war

To boldly face the lost and lonely nights,

Wondering what the next event might stir

In a world where reality forestalls his precious light.

 

Father, mother, sister, brother, precious child

Cherished lover all in one, all in tow

He muddles through the fallow furrowed trenches

Of his mind enrobed in murky hues of faded indigo.

 

And he and she and they who are forced to wait

In silent proxy know his peerless pain,

Cry his tears, feel the deepest fears that fills his night,

That end is near and he will never see his home again.

 

A mother weeps, a father keeps a stoic front

That fools no one – fools no one – no, not one.

Tear-stained letters from a patient lover far away

Whose tender heart’s emotions are undone.

 

They will be with him every step of his travail

As duty compels and he silently walks his keep.

And faith never falters, and hope knows no holiday

For those who wait…

Those who wait… and weep.

 

Duel in the Sand

Some might say it was “not our concern,”

But when humanity meets rebuff

And sovereignty vanishes with the wind,

Someone must stand and say “enough.”

 

The storm has been brewing for quite some time

From cauldrons deep beneath the earth

While tyrants bask in newfound wealth

Without regard for human worth.

 

And now these rogues have crossed the line

That’s drawn from civil decency

To stake a claim and conquer all

In lands extending to the sea.

 

But gainsay forces disapprove

As cannons gather in the sand

And form a fearful peerless shield

To still the manic firebrand.

 

Now brash defiance steeps a tempest

Building to a violent storm

To sweep across the burning dunes

Determined as a hornet’s swarm.

 

But even when the dust is settled

Under the flaming desert sun,

Each side lays claim to victory

And no one knows who really won.

 

The Wall

I haven’t seen it (yet),

            But I survived it

Along with hundreds of thousands more

Who left no small part of a poor man’s soul

Lost and confused in a “no-man’s” war.

 

Fifty-eight thousand two two zero

Carved on a wall of shimmering black.

FIVE-EIGHT-COMMA-TWO-TWO-ZERO

Brilliant brave souls who didn’t come back.

 

And tens upon tens upon thousands more

Who came back unwhole in body, in-kind,

To be spat on, cursed and ridiculed by

A nation that seemed to be out of its mind.

 

But the wall stands tall and long and proud,

The message loud, the statement clear;

That these represent the best of the best

Who gave everything without question or fear.

 

So, we view them with pride

            --With their brothers-in-arms –

When we pause to reflect and recall.

And should we forget what true honor is worth

We need only stand close to the wall.

 

Korea

Bastards took us by surprise

Pouring across the thirty-eighth

Like roaring banshees on steroids

Bashing down the gates of hell.

 

Why they want this damnable place

Only Satan can be sure.

But if they take Korea, where will it end?

It seems impossible to tell.

 

The “red threat” has to perish here

Before it spreads across the sea,

Else we may lose all we hold

Of freedom, life and liberty.

 

Lines are drawn. A stalemate dawns

And still the clash ensues.

Sad emissaries play their games and

As both sides bicker,

Both sides lose.

 

Five million precious souls are lost

In this gruesome “conflict” metaphor.

What kind of lie let’s so many die

And they won’t even call it a war.

 

Hiroshima

No one wanted to be the one to

Unleash the beast of devastation,

To be the first…

            First to give the order,

First to fly the fateful craft,

            First to target and release a

Mass destruction never known.

 

Decisions often can be fearful,

Some are near impossible,

To take a life to save a life

In multiples unknowing,

Both enemy and innocent

Reduced to vapor in an instant

Leaving the victor to wave his flag

And to glory in pure triumph.

 

Yet hesitation haunts the cloud

In fountains of uncertainty.

But might is right. The end must be now.

Next target, Nagasaki.

 

The Greatest Generation

Their numbers dwindle.

All too soon they will be

But a memory,

This selfless generation of a nation

Sworn to liberty.

 

A world gone mad a second time,

The coils unflailing yet again;

An evil Axis from the Rising Sun to

Blitzkrieg’s bitter train.

 

A peaceful flock may be mistook,

Might look as though they just don’t care.

But woe to one who throws the stone

And dares to wake the sleeping bear.

 

And the hibernating masses rose

Unquestioning the narrative,

They gave and gave and then gave more

Til there was nothing left to give.

 

So many perished in the quest

To bring perdition to an end.

A generation sworn to serve;

We’ll never see their likes again.

 

… To End All Wars

Didn’t want to get involved, but

Someone had to end the mess;

Those adolescent-acting oafs, so deep

Entangled in distress.

 

A spider’s web of horror

Overshadows “over there”, and

They need to halt the madness

E’er it migrates “over here”.

 

So, off the Doughboy goes to

Crush the Kaiser’s horrid hordes,

And vows he’ll not return until

He’s stilled the rattled swords.

 

Through the muck and mist and mire of

A wretched no-man’s land,

Inch by inch and trench by trench

He clashes hand to hand.

 

Into the deep perdition,

Arising from the catacomb,

Fulfilling every promise

Til sweet victory brings him home.

 

And now the task, the fearful task

That victory implores,

That this ungodly struggle be

The war to end all wars.

 

Blue or Gray

Different time – Different agenda –

Different mindset – Same old story.

Unapologetic profiteers

In search of gore and glory.

 

Clouds of conflict born in anguish

Pirated o’er angry seas.

Beast of burden – sold – debased

With brash delight for all to see.

 

Passing decades shape a wealth

That disavows upright mores,

Casting shadows on a troubled land

Begetting blues and grays.

 

Now the angry argument is

Launched upon the killing fields

As both believe their cause is just,

And losses rise as neither yields.

 

But when it’s over a promise begins,

A covenant to consummate

Where all are equal and all can be free of

Gross divisiveness and hate.

 

And what was it they fought to free?

The blessings of sweet liberty

And equal justice for all men

Regardless of their shade of skin.

 

The Defense of Baltimore

She was the key, this tidy port,

This haughty, so-called pirate’s nest

Standing defiant in her measure

To lash and seize and hoard her reward.

 

To capture this prize and bring her to heal

Could go far in quelling this newborn unrest

And teach these upstart scallywags

The might of their former overlord.

 

But Lord Baltimore’s children had different ideas,

Amassing in fields and thickets and woods

Saying “Let them come” marching in rank and file.

We’ll cut them to ribbons and end this for good.

 

So, Ross with his army, his pomp and his pride

Embarks from the point on his fateful ride.

He speeds to the front in his rakish attire

To be felled in the flash of sharpshooter fire.

 

And when on the field the armies collide

In a battle that lasted only one day,

The Redcoats concede to superior force

And exit the pitch without further delay.

 

The ships in the harbor lay waste to McHenry

As the noble flag continues to waive,

And a nation grows up by the dawn’s early light

As the land of the free and the home of the brave.

 

Old Hickory’s War

Didn’t we fight this war before?

Same foe, same show as just a few short years ago.

Guess we didn’t get the point across;

They failed to learn their lesson.

Don’t scoff. Hands off!

Or you’ll get caught in the undertow.

 

Time to launch our secret weapon,

Though secret may not be the word.

Ol’ Hick’ry fit the Injun Wars,

Took the fearsome band to task.

No compromise, no questions asked,

This raging, sullen thunderbird.

 

So, off we march to New Orleans,

This ragtag, squirrel-gun toting troop,

To face the finest, fittest force

His Majesty can muster,

To put an end, once and for all,

This brash attempt at foreign rule,

To firmly quash the British might

And all its Parliamentary  bluster.

 

But Old Hickory took it all in stride.

He led, he fought, he won.

And every mother’s child reveres

The newborn nation’s favorite son.

 

Remember the Alamo

Be kind when you speak of the many brave souls

Who gave their all at the Alamo

Against an overwhelming foe

To win their freedom in Mexico.

 

With odds stacked as many as twenty to one

The outcome foregone when the battle was done.

And when the small fortress, at last overrun, with

No prisoners taken, all is undone.

 

The beast, Santa Ana, no clemency lends

As his horrible hoard on the mission descends.

And Crockett and Bowie and Travers and friends

Are doomed from the start to their ill-fated end.

 

Heroes and villains and legends are made

As leaders emerge to conduct the crusade.

And karma evokes a dear price to be paid

When cannons erupt in intense fusillade.

 

And while San Jacinto’s fate softens the blow

In bringing an end to this imbroglio,

When heroes are needed to make our pride glow

We will always remember

The Alamo.

 

In Old Mexico

A vision of Manifest Destiny

Grows full to its measure of gravity

To set a new nation ablaze down

In old Mexico.

 

And all of the bluster and fluster and flame

Erupts in a cluster of claim/counterclaim

To rattle the sabers of battle

In old Mexico.

 

Vast fever and fervor, in all of its glory,

Lays claim the expanse of immense territory

And nobody wants to let go down

In old Mexico.

 

Heroes are born and armies demise

With cannons erupting without compromise

And no one is safe from undoing

In old Mexico.

 

But old Santa Ana is no match for Scott.

He has no defense from this bold juggernaut,

So, compromise finally prevails down

In old Mexico.

 

And when, in the end, the victory won,

Manifest Destiny simply rolls on,

But nothing is ever the same down

In old Mexico.

 

You Say You Want a Revolution

“When in the course of human events.”

Thus tolls the bell of fervent appeal,

This declaration,

This new beginning,

This fledgling flight from the eagle’s nest.

 

“We hold these truths to be self-evident.”

That these rights be not taken by trial or ordeal.

That liberty’s grasp is secure and unending

And freedom endures when held to the test.

 

And if there be violence,

            Let there be violence.

We shall not wither though cannons may reel.

For independence is ours for the winning

And we will not settle for second-best.

 

For they shall not govern without our consent,

Or throttle our fervor or stifle our zeal

Lest we send them whirling, reeling and spinning

With our vigilant vigor that never will rest.

 

No patience for despots or tyrants or kings

When Liberty, sweet Liberty, opens her wings.

 

Sentinels

We are the sentinels,

Make no mistake.

We carry the future in our hands.

We must hold the line for

The next generation until

They can step up to take a stand.

 

Our fathers before us

And theirs before them

Were the guardians of their time.

They set the example,

Offered their blood to

Establish the proud paradigm.

 

As long as the essence

Of freedom remains

In the glint of the patriot’s eye,

The sentinels stand

Over Liberty’s land

Holding her banner high.

 

Enduring Peace

“What might it take to achieve and preserve the enduring peace that the world deserves?”

“It would take much more patience than we ever have known. We would need to grow wiser than we have grown.”

 

“Why must the world be forever at odds? Are our differences such that we cannot agree?”

 

“Our differences never should keep us apart. After all, we are all part of one family.”

 

“Are we then doomed to be ever embroiled in the conflict of nations, bent to destroy?”

 

“The nation of man knows no boundaries or borders, which all of God’s creatures are meant to enjoy.”

 

“So, I must ask again. Please, tell me, my friend. Will the struggles of war ever cease?”

 

“When the greed of mankind can leave loathing behind, we may then find enduring peace.”

 

A Constant Vigil

The watchman stands punctilious guard

As his charges rest in sweet repose.

He speaks no word, makes not a sound

To stir the hush as darkness grows.

 

His mission clear: to still all fear to

Grant them winsome peaceful sleep.

His warry eyes rest on the prize,

Relentless, as he tends his keep.

 

Woe to those who dare to breach

The borders he is sworn to tend.

No interlopers penetrate

Where he has chosen to defend.

 

And so must we all watchful be

With steadfast caution, circumspect

Of demons lurking in the dark,

Our one and only task: protect.

 

Prudence brings its own reward

Rejoicing with exuberance, for

Caution begets peace of mind

To those who practice vigilance.

 

Virtues

What virtues do you most admire?

So many to espouse.

We’ll make a list if you insist

So we might freely browse.

They say patience is a virtue, but then

So’s tenacity, and

Understanding rates quite high

Along with purity.

Ethics makes the list with

Incorruptibility, and

Worth is so important to

Preserve our dignity.

Honor is the cornerstone

Of deemed propriety,

But honesty is vital to

Secure integrity.

Innocence is virtue blessed

By chaste morality, while

Goodness shadows worthiness,

The grounds of decency.

 

But there is one that stands alone

In virtues, great and small.

Kindness… simple kindness is

The greatest virtue of them all.

 

Homeland

This is my home, my native land,

The country of my birth.

What better place to live and grow,

To lift my inner worth?

 

Even though I oft make light

Or speak of her in mirth,

No better place can I speculate

Exists on Mother Earth.

 

Some people like to travel

Hither, yonder, near and far.

They never seem quite satisfied

Just being where they are.

 

Exactly what they’re seeking

Is impossible to know.

But I’ve got all I need right here.

I have no need to go.

 

And when, at last, it’s over and

My final race is run,

Embrace my ashes over Her

And let us breathe as one.

 

Loyal to the Last

He couldn’t tell you why

He volunteered, only to say

It was something that he felt he had to do,

To help… to serve.

There were other options that

He might have chosen. Better pay,

Better hours, not as taxing on

His body or his nerves.

 

He didn’t mean to make his mother

Cry so many tears,

But she couldn’t hide the pride

She felt inside her breaking heart.

He only meant to honor her and

All that she had taught

Of integrity and loyalty and

All that they impart.

 

He knows that any moment can bring

Turmoil to his life

Where endangerment can threaten hard and fast.

But he will never waiver

In the face of enmity.

He vows to stay forever faithful…

And loyal to the last.

 

The Pledge

It may not be the popular trend

To quote the pledge, hand over heart;

Some backlash from the “me” generation

Hesitant to be a part of

Something larger than themselves.

They dodge all symbols of commitment,

Shunning lyrics of allegiance

With a scowl of vague resentment.

 

I was taught to show respect

And carry hubris in my stance

When symbols of my cherished land

Remind of my inheritance.

 

The brave, the fearless patriots

Who gladly gave their all.

Who held her battle colors high

And never let them fall.

 

Red for those who shed their blood

So others might live free.

White, for virtues unreproached

And cherished purity.

Blue proclaims our loyalty,

No thought of sacrilege.

 

Yes, I will stand and raise my hand

With pride to quote the pledge.