Show Your Colors

Show your colors loud and proud to
Watch them soar with glory.
View with eyes that chase the prize of
Passions age-old story.
 
Let your flag unfurl with flourish
To a brash brass band to
Inspire the spirit of the masses
All throughout the hinterland.
 
With red on white on white on red
The purest rays of valor shine as
Starlight dusts a field of blue
Where faith and justice intertwine.
 
The peerless quest of freedom’s child
Glides towering on eagles wings
Inspiring loyal partisans
As throngs of grateful choirs sing.
 
And though she be not faultless
In her bearing or her scope,
She is still the perfect symbol of
Unending boundless hope.

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Freedom

Freedom is a hummingbird,
Fleeting, fast and fragile with
Bright wings that sing in rhythmic dreams
The perfect jewel of joyful faith,
Seeking out the beautiful, the
Flowing flowers of the field,
To drink the nectar of her bloom and
All her gifts disseminate.
 
Freedom is a golden eagle
Sailing on a wafting zephyr,
Unencumbered by the straining
Baleful bonds of gravity.
Confident that none may rise to
Purloin his emancipation.
Soaring over mountains high
He sets his own alternatives.
 
Freedom is a mountaintop
Rising where no roads may tread,
Wearing robes of purest white while
Bleeding rivers rife with hope.
Tendrils flush with provender
Reaching meadows near and far
To nurture countless leas of flowers
And feed sweet freedoms hummingbird.
 

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.”

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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.

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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?
 
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Open the Cages

Open the cages and
Let loose the lions.
Set free the spirit that
Nature bequeaths to
Rule vast domain and
Roar into the fury,
To know the sweet victory
Freedom affirms.
 
Dangerous prospect in
Waking the beast whose
Heart knows no fear,
Whose angst knows no peace.
An unsated hunger that
Drives ever forward
Giving no quarter,
Accepting no terms.
 
Open the cages of life
If you dare.
Challenge all foes,
Let the full world beware.
 
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To Weather the Storm

Caught in the maelstrom of twisted confusion,
Fickle chameleon dancing to dirges of
Lonely lost causes, so long forgotten,
Misbegotten paltry plans.
 
Tightly attuned to the vast range of changes
All muddled and muddied by dark empty urges,
Hiding in corners, alone and ashamed,
Unable to think, unwilling to stand.
 
Too long the victim.
          Yes, far too long to
Writhe in these shadows while Satan cajoles and
Controls every nuance, first to last,
As quivering fools suffer under his hand.
 
Now is the time and here is the station where
Heroes stand tall and courage unfolds
Like an unfurling flag defying the wind to
Inspire the spirit, boasting command.
 
Shielding the precious, the cherished from harm,
Finding safe harbor to weather the storm.

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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 a 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.
 
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The Flag Retirement

Crisp Autumn frost biting noses and toes as

A reverent assemblage awaits the occasion.
No anger or protest, no mock revolution,
Just love and respect for the symbol at hand.
 
Young men in uniform move briskly with purpose
To tender the flame’s resolute preparation.
They gather their linens, all tattered and worn,
The emblem of liberty throughout the land.
 
In staid ceremony, a crisp call to order,
A calm benediction of gentle persuasion.
“The line forms right here
To bring forth your banners”
To place on the pyre through the dirge of the band.
 
I stand at attention, hat in hand.
My eyes are aghast with the realization
The flame purifies, sanctifies, canonizes
In ways nary a soul will misunderstand.

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She Stands in the Harbor

A gift.
A magnanimous, thoughtful gift
From her sister nation across the sea.
Born from the love of freedom
And faith in the kindness of humanity.
She stands in the harbor overlooking
The portal of hope. Her torch held high
To hail the ships, to light the path in
Silence, never asking why.
 
Behind her the never-ending sprawl of
A steaming behemoth rides the horizon.
The mountains and trenches of concrete and steel
Scream a challenge of vast expanses beyond.
But she never waivers in her daunting task.
Her silent resolve makes a solemn decree.
She beckons the weary to enter her shores and
Accept the bold challenge of sweet liberty.
 
She cannot deny them,
Will never forsake them,
Shall always enfold them in welcoming arms.
And all who believe in the bright torch of freedom
Forever defend her and keep her from harm.

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Founding Fathers

There were no blueprints in those early days;

Just ragged tomes and scrolls from eons past

With cryptic jargon and philosophies

Of overstated misbegotten text.

The pieces are all there in scattered scrawl

Laid out before the gathering to weigh.

The gallant and outspoken breathing fire

As they beat their chests and cry for liberty.

Consensus fails to fill the room with glee
And harmony is but a poltergeist
Who manifests in vague chimeric veils
To dance and shift and gel to solid type.

And in the end their grand epiphany  
Befits the will of all who would be free.

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Valhalla Awaits

The Ancients conceived and believed in the dream of
A golden land where the vanquished abide,
Those hero-inhabited hallowed halls,
          The splendor of Valhalla.
And the warrior weathers the
Flames of distress without fear or regret
For he knows in the end
His reward will surpass any
Wounds he may bear
As honor becomes his most trusted friend.

With valor and verve, he soars his spirit
To unnerving heights on rarefied air.
No task too consuming,
No quest out of question,
He fights the brave fight to
Defend what is fair.

He must not fail.
He will not fail.
This valiant sentinel of war.
And when his sword and shield shall rest
He strolls Valhalla forevermore.

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.

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Free to Choose

There was a time - eons ago - when
Choices were much simpler.
A left, a right,
A yes or no,
On or off, up or down,
A smile, a frown, a blank response,
A pill to ease a restless night.
 
We were young with foolish hearts,
No thought of how the world ensues.
Little to win,
          Less to lose,
But we were free,
          Free to choose.
 
Now the weight of worlds roll by and
Here stand I dazed and confused.
The when and what,
The where and why,
My whole life passing in review.
 
But duty calls and I must go.
No petty purpose can excuse.
I will fight and
I will serve
So others may be free to choose.
 
 
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Visions of Liberty

Dare I wake tempestuous dreams of
Stormy skies and trembling walls to
Stumble through the midnight mire,
The wanton waste named Yesterday.
 
Who can chase this clamoring cacophony of
Warning bells?
Who will quell this quivering, this shivering
Of servitude?
 
Once, in youth, a vision stirred
Beneath the willows sheltering arms
Where every heart is filled with hope,
A prophesy of pristine realms.
 
But fate is cruel and Caesar’s rule
Requires a tribute to be paid,
Hard decisions to be made before
The ogre overwhelms.
 
The muddled masses must arise
In fervor and intensity
To keep the dream, the quest alive.
The vision of sweet liberty.


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Announcement:
Click on this link for an important announcement.

Dennis Sidney Martin Announces the Release of a New Book, The Truth About Truth: The Relevance of Truth in a Civilized Society, to Simplify Every Day Decision Making

 

Now available from Lulu.com

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Patriot Dreams

Standing on the precipice of
            Willful measure,
                    Far removed from
Rambling reality
He holds his breath… and waits
                  In watchful vigilance.
Prepared to give,
            To live…
                        To die
If die he must to keep them safe.
He never stops to question why.
The why was answered long before
His watchful eyes reflected on       
The distant haze of far horizons.
 
Lessons from the bowels of Hell have
Been his teacher,
Taught him well,
Filled his nights with restless dreams of
Secrets he can never tell.
Failure? Unacceptable.
A traitor’s wage is paid in blood.
The patriot will never sleep
Til others stand where he has stood.
 
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Patriot Dreams

My next project is a collection of patriotic poems.

 

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