Memorial Day
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We remember not only the soldier but the family. We remember it is not a beautiful thing, not the dying, not the body, not the tears, the lost years. The young and older gave up much. Some wanted to go, others were drafted. Who could fill their place at the table. In America, many restaurants and other venues will set a table for that soldier...that poignant empty space. Forget all our selfishness and silliness. Remember the soldiers who gave their all.
You can hear a pin drop as the car circles the neighborhood and stands still, before the loud doors open and rose petals fall, as the highly decorated grim reaper wills himself to deliver bad news.
— by poet
Memorial Day
What pin brings us to the table?
The car circled and stopped one’s heart.
The young are no longer living.
The flag was waving - red, white, blue.
The car circled, and stopped one’s heart,
Sometime after the dark caved in.
The flag was waving - red, white, blue.
Celebration comes to a halt.
Sometime, after the dark caved in,
Rigor Mortis makes time stand still.
Celebration came to a halt -
Moment the soldier breathed his last.
Rigor Mortis makes time stand still;
Strong mother’s scream and father’s faint.
Moment the soldier breathed his last,
Silence filled his usual seat.
Strong mother’s scream and father’s faint.
The young are no longer living.
Silence filled his usual seat.
What pin brings us to the table?
Copyright © Kim Rodrigues | Year Posted 2025
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