I Am the Unknown

I am the one who keeps mothers awake at night. I am the one whom she lives in dread, for whom her tears are sadly shed, the one for whom her tears never dry, I am the one memory that will never die. I am the one who lives to die forever; the one whose name given in life, will become unknown due to wartime strife. I am the one who harbors the weight of all who have suffered and died, unrecognizable, doomed to an unknown fate. I am the one whose guarded and protected by day and by night, with millions of visitors worldwide; most not alive, when I died, yet, come to visit and grieve. The one they remember in hushed monotones, afraid I might hear that I am unknown. I am the one who will never go home; the one whose bones nobody knows. I am the one a nation mourns, every day I lay here, I become better known, every war we fight adds several more, of all who have died, I am the one all America knows. I am the Unknown, I am soldier, sailor, airman, or marine, not alone; I represent millions of whose blood has been spilled. I represent millions who returned, to suffer nightmares, until death calls them home. I represent millions ready to step forward when freedom rings. I lie in the Tomb Of The Unknown, I rest comfortably, at peace, I will never be alone, it grieves me not to rest in this tomb, my soul rests in heaven, where I am well known.