Best Memorial Day Poems | Poetry
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Happy Holiday -- Happy Memorial Day
by Wolf, Gershon
Memorial Day
by Callus, Paul
Memorial Day
by trevino, carlos
MEMORIAL DAY
by Rodrigues, Kim
MEMORIAL DAY Patriot's Blood and His
by Deo, Anil
My Most Memorable Memorial Day
by Connell, Carol
I Hate Memorial Day
by Peterson, Keith
Memorial Day is Here Again
by Wanter, Sunlite
Memorial Day
by turner, roger
Memorial Day Follow Up
by Horn, James
View all new Memorial Day Poems
The Best Memorial Day Poems
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Memorial Day Poem
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~Homeless~
A lost guardian angel, sitting on the edge of everything
I push my shopping cart along the cracks of destiny
My house sits on the corner of every mission street
My tin coffee cup feeds on caring heartbeats
My possession is the icon of war, six missing buttons
Navy and white my grandfathers 70-yr-old military tunic.
My Jacket- My blanket
My Jacket from which I am inseparable
My Jacket - represents the mobility of life
This Jacket is my home.
Copyright © Poet Destroyer A | Year Posted 2013
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Memorial Day Poem
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On that day many years ago, we took the kids on a trip
to the national cemetery on the Presidio. Our hope-
to give our children a different perspective
besides picnics, hamburgers and hot dogs. The weather
was windy but pleasant as we pulled up to our destination. We
stood together near the entrance looking out over rows and
rows of decorated tombstones. Gazing at my young son,
I observed a look of reverential awe on his face. Suddenly with
no prompting, he ran toward a tombstone where a flag and
flowers had been blown over and gently
put them back in place. To our amazement, this act was repeated
again and again and again as we made our way through
the grounds. A profound thankfulness filled my bosom, leapt up
and shouted, “Yes, he has it for himself now!”
I have never forgotten that day when among the dead,
something noble was born in
the heart of our son.
5/25/18
Copyright © Carol Connell | Year Posted 2018
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Memorial Day Poem
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A people persecuted beyond imagination;
To help them he felt, was his obligation.
He joined the army in World War II;
Not knowing his hell would be Eyes of Blue.
When he reached Normandy, the beaches were red.
Crawling over his brothers who lay already dead.
To give this tyrant, this devil his due;
Not knowing his own demons, would be Eyes of Blue.
He rounded a building securing a town;
A young German soldier was just coming round.
He plunged his bayonet, the quicker of the two;
Killing the young soldier, with Eyes of Blue.
He knelt down beside him with tears in his eyes;
How long this moment would last, he did not realize.
He closed the eyes as he thought he should do;
Thinking never again to see those Eyes of Blue.
The victor over many in Germany and Japan;
It was always difficult taking life from a man.
None would haunt him, this he now knew;
As long as the soldier, with Eyes of Blue.
He died an old man, to heaven he went;
For this honorable soldier, mercy was sent.
First time since the war, so sad but true;
A peaceful sleep, not seeing Eyes of Blue.
Copyright © Arlene Smith | Year Posted 2014
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Memorial Day Poem
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Lights Out
One hundred years on and still the shout
“Everyone put your lights out”
Just for an hour from 10 to 11
And remember all those souls in heaven
One hundred years and still the cry
The perennial unanswered question “why?”
Is there a need in this hour of deed
For any to ignore or not to heed?
One hundred years, millions dead
In battles, wars and streets of dread
Trenches then, now car bombs blast
Tearing at families left aghast
One hundred years – again LIGHTS OUT
Not one city but the country throughout
Is this too much to ask ourselves
For those who died through bayonet and shells?
Lights out and let us honour our dead
Light a single candle in room or shed
Remember those terse words upon us yet
“Lest we Forget – lest we forget!”
August 4th 2014
Copyright © Thomas Mansfield | Year Posted 2014
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Memorial Day Poem
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Those were my green and salad days
My friends, my toys were all my wealth.
Marbles and pebbles, my gems and pearls.
No fear of loss or bother about gains.
Trump cards valued no less than money.
School , home and uncle’s was my world.
What comes from where and goes where
None of them, I cared about, alike prince.
To run the empire of my utopia, my dad
Fought so many battles against all odds.
Unaware of all, with joy pass my days.
Till one day to pay my fees, I remember
If anything seeped into my mind ever
Like an engraved word on copper plate.
He has to sell his wedding watch
On the pulse, for the first moment in life.
My eyes were wet for someone else
Other than me, painted with the colours
Of emotion, as most memorable picture.
For a poetry contest,inspired from a real memory.
©15/09/2014
Copyright © Malik Yaseen | Year Posted 2014
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Memorial Day Poem
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It was the summer - August 4
When England joined the First World War
1914 the very year
Before wives and children shed their bitter tears
‘The war to end wars’ was the battle cry
Before there had been one widow’s sigh
The men lined up by the score
To enlist, sacrifice themselves to this bitter war
Friends and families made their mark
Pals regiments were formed in town and park
From factories, clubs, offices and farms
They became privates, sergeants, men at arms
And off they went through the streets
Not knowing that they were cannon meat
Cheered and applauded as they marched
Toward war’s verdant fields not yet parched
“It’ll be over by Christmas” came the call
“Get over there one and all”
No one of them, home or abroad
Had ever heard of “Total War”
Posters beckoned from every wall
Poets wrote of war’s enthrall
Songs and stories came thick and fast
Glorifying war and our heroic past
But very soon came the acrid truth
Millions dead - “Anthem of Doomed Youth”
Trial by ordeal and fire and zeal
A generation gone through war’s sharp steel
The sombre, bitter, vile death-calls
Quickly killed the tunes of the music halls
Wounded, dead, disfigured men
Many mutilated beyond any ken
At the end it was all for naught
That carnage in each battle fought
Kings deposed and Empires lost
But the worst thing was the human cost
One hundred years to this very day
Like then we shake our heads and say
Still in wars our sons and daughters die
To all that is holy, why? oh why?
Copyright © Thomas Mansfield | Year Posted 2014
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Memorial Day Poem
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Most of us play, our lives like a game
Both ends of our candle, consumed by the flame
Choosing a curtain, buying a vowel
Planning tomorrow, forsaking the now
In days gone by, not so long ago
We were dreaming of spring, through icy windows
Fields of green clover, budding trees and daffodils
Cooling homemade cobblers, on open window sills
Walking barefoot in the yard, after warm morning showers
Lost in our daydreams of sweet smelling flowers
Now June awaits, with anticipating brides
Spring has sprung, as we hear distant tides
Our minds look ahead, to tropical destinations
Free time with loved ones, on family vacations
Camping, hiking, perhaps water skiing
Traveling far away, for some casual sight seeing
While we're relaxing, with minds elsewhere
Spending today, on tomorrow's big dare
In the hot summer sun, we'll think of the snow
Taking for granted, the time that we blow
For Americans, tomorrow is Memorial Day
Religious or not, we should all stop and pray
For all the people, who gave their lives
At home and abroad, for their sacrifice
Fighting and dying, for the time that we waste
Ask God to love them and show them His grace
Pray for their families, for the love they lost
Paying the price, with the ultimate cost
Think of the fallen, lost in their prime
Be thankful for them and keep them in mind
an original poem by the "Poemdog" Daniel Turner
Copyright © Daniel Turner | Year Posted 2016
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Memorial Day Poem
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A street lamp illumines our rain soaked flag
as soft filtered shades of red white and blue
try to let sparkles of light glisten through.
Peace fills the night as a zephyr shapes rain,
yet our mourning hearts have an ache for you.
As dawn crests the mountains and paints our
twilight sky, in pink, purple, then a golden hue,
today we remember those who fought far-away,
and let us not forget all their loved ones too.
Our memories we recall in our own sacred way.
Let us give thanks for their sacrifice; Never forget,
the countless dear lives of our soldiers unknown;
and thousands whose names in stone that are set.
Let us have faith, their spirits to heaven have flown.
So today let us offer our love in a heartfelt prayer
to pray for families whose loved ones have died.
Lord please bless them all, let them know we care.
Let there be peace for all on this earth who abide.
© Connie Marcum Wong
Blessings on Memorial Day
Copyright © Connie Marcum Wong | Year Posted 2016
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Memorial Day Poem
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The moment that changed a city
The moment that changed a town
The moment that the earth did move
The moment that walls came down.
Sudden shock in the dark of night
Not expected before a coming day
Jolted from a peaceful sleep
From a nasty brutal sway.
What seemed to be eternity
Seconds that weren't so quick
Suddenly silence spread its sound
Except the echo of an old clocks tick.
Fears for friends and family
The networks all gone down
Checking neighbours in the street
Emotions shaky as the ground.
Listening to the radio
Expecting death to fill the air
Bracing with every aftershock
Terror laid fully bare.
Angels must have worked that night
No one badly harmed
Not knowing in the future
We weren’t to be so charmed.
4th September 2015
Christchurch Earthquake September 4th 2010. The smaller earthquake on February 22nd 2011 was to claim 185 lives.
Copyright © Mark Woods | Year Posted 2015
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Memorial Day Poem
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Rows and rows and rows of white crosses,
Like sentinels -stone-fixed to the ground.
The wind like a shroud wraps around them,
Enshrining each space where they're found.
Stone guardians stand at attention,
Into the distance -row after row.
O' mourn those hallowed internments,
Where our heroes are resting below.
Rows and rows and rows of white crosses,
With their numbers increasing with years.
And graves that are drenched by the weeping,
Will never run dry of our tears.
Now the soil is the dead's lonely blanket,
Below - and everlasting - at rest.
Those keepers -yes -all those white crosses,
Announcing -'Here lie the Best of the Best.'
Rows and rows and rows of white crosses,
All those warriors were yields of our lives.
And the harvest of what all wars cost us,
Are plowed under and nothing survives.
There is green lawn laid like a carpet,
That covers our heroes repose.
Outstreched are the arms of the crosses,
In a garden where nothing else grows.
Copyright © Margaret Wade | Year Posted 2017
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Memorial Day Poem
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DEAD AT HOME -For Veteran's Day
It's a gray day, in the café,
by the side of the road.
There's an old man, took a firm stand,
trying to loosen the load.
It is struck luck, with his last buck,
but he pays for his soup.
He has no wife, all of his life,
he is out of the loop.
He will bum thumb, in a ride from,
here to his cardboard box.
There's a sleeping roll, a piece of coal,
and a pillow made of rocks.
Allegory.
No glory.
A mad sad told cold story.
Alliteration, of an allegation, on how he kills for glory.
Then the lie dies, in GI's, when our soldier kills a man.
All told, he is not bold, but this tale is secondhand.
He preaches whale's tales, of army mad males,
as he calls for his god.
Then he dreams schemes, of the war machines,
and ghosts that run him odd.
Then he weeps sleeps, and a secret keeps,
and he hates the morning light.
He has lost his place, in the human race,
and he always will take flight.
He will dine fine, on the red wine,
which he drinks from a paper cup.
He will watch stars, and count his scars,
but his heart has given up!
Allegory.
No glory.
A mad sad told cold story.
Alliteration, of an allegation, on how he kills for glory.
Then the lie dies, in GI's, when our soldier kills a man.
All told, he is not bold, but this tale is secondhand.
-Edlynn Nau
Copyright © Edlynn Nau | Year Posted 2015
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Memorial Day Poem
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The fields are now quiet,
The thunder long gone;
The graves with their shadows
Stretch on and on.
The battle once here
Lives but in the past,
Of a war meant to be
Of all wars the last.
The flags and the trumpets,
The glory and fear,
Led men to battle;
Led but to here.
Copyright © Jerome Malenfant | Year Posted 2017
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Memorial Day Poem
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There is a field that we all know
That passed a torch where Soldiers go
Those that fell fought to the end
From that field they did ascend
To look upon the light relay
That made us free free this day
Rest in peace we do remember
This is done eleven November
In a field that's now a lot
Rows of cars I did spot
In the air a poppy blowing
Where I wonder is it going
Among the maple leaves that fell
This poppies color blended well
Lost it there but for a moment
Young child's find leaves bestowment
Conferred unknown mom what's this?
This my child so we don't miss
Small reminder Veterans that passed
So all can live in peace ever last
Copyright © Ronald Kent | Year Posted 2016
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Memorial Day Poem
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Memorial Day
by the unknown soldier’s tomb
she prays for closure
- - - - - - - - - - - -
© 28th May 2018
Copyright © Paul Callus | Year Posted 2018
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Memorial Day Poem
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Where have all the young men gone?
Gone to fight in foreign lands,
To make the world a better place
And place it in more peaceful hands.
Why did all the young men go?
To do their duty, every one.
To help the cause of liberty
For peoples they don't even know.
When will they be coming home?
When all the guns have ceased to roar.
We'll raise a cheer when they return
And pretend they brought an end to war.
But how will some come home again?
In bag or box, it's all the same.
And what will they remind us of?
That war's a wasteful, senseless game.
Who will mourn these fallen sons?
Mothers, fathers everywhere,
And all the rest who stayed behind
And cheered them when they went to war.
Where are heroes laid to rest?
On the breast of immortality,
To sleep, warmed by a vigil flame
That burns their names in history.
And what will be their legacy?
This epitaph for one and all:
All wars must end ere there will be
No more young men to heed the call.
Copyright © Jim Slaughter | Year Posted 2018
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Memorial Day Poem
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This day, in America, we remember those who died in battle:
MEMORIAL DAY — IN LIME DEPOSITS
In lime deposits, memories live on, as torrential flesh dies.
Cries in sunshine and rain, flower up bloody sacrifice.
The hopeful blooms of freedom’s caustic cost —
The poppy seeds would last, yet nowhere ne’er suffice.
On her proud lapel, dripping with measured tears.
Upon her adorned wrist the pressure of passion petals.
The nettles that fell the fighters of shivering yesteryear.
Still jewels shine, from the home, where the quivers settle.
How thick and plush, a ruddy head rush, the beautiful field
Of poppies that spread, endlessly abroad in Eden’s bower.
Reflective hourglass sands of the past, present and future.
Repopulation of the sullen earth with faithful ruddy flowers.
The crimson crib of a lover’s garden, salted with personal tears,
Whilst life traverses, without morse code, to one’s brief generation.
War but a scourge on man’s back — the epitome of Calvary’s cross.
A long line of souls, lifted upon an unselfish tree, of love’s veneration.
5/28/2018
Copyright © Kim Rodrigues | Year Posted 2018
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Memorial Day Poem
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(special thanks to a friend who shared this tribute to Solomon Mahlangu)
Solomon Mahlangu: My Blood will Nourish the Tree that will Bear the Fruits of Freedom:
Solomon Mahlangu was trained as an MK soldier with a view to later rejoining the struggle in the country.
He left South Africa after the Soweto Uprising of 1976 when he was 19 years old, and was later chosen to be part of an elite force to return to South Africa to carry out a mission commemorating the June 16th 1976 Soweto student uprising.
After entering South Africa through Swaziland and meeting his fellow comrades in Duduza, on the East Rand (east of Johannesburg), they were accosted by the police in Goch Street in Johannesburg.
In the ensuing gun battle two civilians were killed and two were injured, and Mahlangu and Motloung were captured while acting as decoys so that the other comrade could go and report to the MK leadership.
Motloung was brutally assaulted by the police to a point that he suffered brain damage and was unfit to stand trial, resulting in Mahlangu facing trial alone.
He was charged with two counts of murder and several charges under the Terrorism Act, to which he pleaded not guilty.
Though the judge accepted that Motloung was responsible for the killings, common purpose was argued and Mahlangu was found guilty on two counts of murder and other charges under the Terrorism Act.
On 15 June 1978 Solomon Mahlangu was refused leave to appeal his sentence by the Rand Supreme Court, and on 24 July 1978 he was refused again in the Bloemfontein Appeal Court.
Although various governments, the United Nations, International Organizations, groups and prominent individuals attempted to intercede on his behalf, Mahlangu awaited his execution in Pretoria Central Prison, and was hanged on 6 April 1979.
His hanging provoked international protest and condemnation of South Africa and Apartheid.
In fear of crowd reaction at the funeral the police decided to bury Mahlangu in Atteridgeville in Pretoria.
On 6 April 1993 he was re-interred at the Mamelodi Cemetery, where a plaque states his last words:
‘My blood will nourish the tree that will bear the fruits of freedom.
Tell my people that I love them.
They must continue the fight.’
Mahlangu died for a cause!
Salute!
The Struggle Continues…
(special thanks to a friend who shared this tribute to Solomon Mahlangu)
Copyright © Scribbler Of Verses | Year Posted 2013
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Memorial Day Poem
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We salute every soldier who’s
served this great nation.
And offer a heart of thanks
and appreciation!
We salute each member
of our armed forces.
And are thankful for their
efforts and resources!
We salute the many who
protect our borders too.
We’d be in trouble…
If not for people like YOU!
We salute every son and
daughter lost in a war.
YOU are what serving this
country is meant for!
We salute the officers who’ve
guided our women and men.
Our prayers are with you!
And our love from within!
We salute our veterans!
Wherever they may be!
Those who served on
land, air and sea!
Offering prayer to the
Lord is our belief…
That he will guide our
Commander-in-Chief!
As we observe Memorial Day this year…
Let’s offer our soldiers
love, hope and cheer!
May God bless them in
all they endeavor
And his peace be with them
today and forever!!
By Jim Pemberton
Copyright © Jim Pemberton | Year Posted 2013
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Memorial Day Poem
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Fake Words – Zamreen Zarook
God have given us mouth,
Not to speak to north and south,
Tongue is given under an oath,
So it’s our duty to protect them both.
Girls chat fake with boys,
Having a notion that the boys are toys,
They often make varied noise,
Thinking to keep a trap on handsome guys.
Boys are also human being,
So it’s not possible being clean,
Things varies in the way they are seen,
So positive thinking will make you keen.
Boys’ minds are pure,
As it is pure bio,
So don’t try to pour vino,
Which will take decades to get cure.
Copyright © Zamreen Zarook | Year Posted 2013
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Memorial Day Poem
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Remember Me
Memorial Day Tribute 2015
A soldier gives his life in battle his spirit is set free.
His body finds a grave his soul cries remember me.
Remembering this moment that I first met my doom.
Remember me, a baby forming in my mothers womb.
Remembering first steps I took remember times I fell.
Recall my dreams of heaven and each moment spent in hell.
Remember mountains that I faced before I answered duty's call.
Climbing trees and skinned up knees I dreamed I'd climb them all.
Remember times of courage lessons learned and lessons taught.
Remember me for good times before my last fight was fought.
Remembering your freedom and that freedom don't come free.
I ask so little in return when asking you remember me.
Not a body in a grave somewhere, a wooden cross stuck in the dirt.
A sister or a brother too with U.S.A. stitched on my shirt.
Remember so it's not in vain the life that now is through.
Remembering the blood that spilled still runs red white and blue.
Edwin C Hofert
Copyright © Edwin Hofert | Year Posted 2015
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Memorial Day Poem
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This Memorial Day…
We salute every soldier who’s
served this great nation.
And offer a heart of thanks
and appreciation!
We salute each member
of our armed forces.
And are thankful for their
efforts and resources!
We salute the many who
protect our borders too.
We’d be in trouble…
If not for people like YOU!
We salute every son and
daughter lost in a war.
YOU are what serving this
country is meant for!
We salute the officers who’ve
guided our women and men.
Our prayers are with you!
And our love from within!
We salute our veterans!
Wherever they may be!
Those who served on
land, air and sea!
Offering prayer to the
Lord is our belief…
That he will guide our
Commander-in-Chief!
As we observe Memorial Day this year…
Let’s offer our soldiers
love, hope and cheer…
May God bless them in
all they endeavor
And his peace be with them
today and forever!!
By Jim Pemberton 05/21/10
Copyright © Jim Pemberton | Year Posted 2014
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Memorial Day Poem
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the crowds are coming
Memorial Day again
when summer begins
Copyright © Robert Heemstra | Year Posted 2013
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Memorial Day Poem
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The flag flies over this land of the brave and the free
as a symbol of the liberty enjoyed by you and me.
It flutters in the breeze of a quiet afternoon
reflecting sounds of battles in which men died too soon.
The flag flies overhead in cities and in towns
where people seek a haven from worlds turned upside-down.
It tries, gallantly, to honor, on quiet afternoons,
memories of warriors -- young men who died too soon.
The flag flies overhead -- unseen, by some, it seems,
who hurry on their separate ways in search of private dreams.
It waves farewell then, it appears, with the rise of the evening moon,
it gently reaches out to touch the men who died too soon.
Author's note:
This was written some years ago to honor our fallen warriors
May they rest in eternal peace.. Jake
Copyright © John Posey | Year Posted 2013
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Memorial Day Poem
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Hoot! Hoot! Came the call
In silence I listened,heard
Nothing.
Suddenly, hoot! Hoot!
Came the cry,tree
Branches rustling,wings
Flapping.
Seems the world was in
Oblivion-the absolute
Silence.
Went I to the window
and Looked into the
empty Darkness. As I lay
down,I Knew somewhere
I would Hear that sound
again.
Copyright © Ifeanyi Bob Ekechukwu | Year Posted 2013
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Memorial Day Poem
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A Service Member's Prayer
Oh, God, I feel that I have cause
To know my life might give You pause,
But fair as You are sure to be,
I seek Your way on bended knee.
I wish neither to kill nor die,
Though from engagement I'll not shy.
For if my duty calls me there,
I'll do whatever I must dare.
I seek not courage for the fight.
I seek not comfort from the night.
I ask not pardon for my deeds,
Nor any salve for any needs.
I only ask to know what's right,
To do my best to check my might,
To render mercy where I should,
To know I serve the greater good.
Oh, God, if You will hear my plea,
I ask so very much of thee.
I fear not men, I fear not death,
Yet bow my head and still my breath
To ask You, please, to do Your best,
To keep me from eternal rest,
Until the hour my duty sends
Me home to family and friends.
And if You grant my humble prayer,
Oh, God, I ask You, keep from care
Those people whom I hold most dear.
I wish them not to shed a tear
In anguish over days now done,
Where my dawn was their setting sun.
For then, if You will grant my plea,
I'll soon be nearer them and Thee.
Copyright Shawn H. Hall 2014
Copyright © Shawn Hall | Year Posted 2014