To the social media managers, admins and for those of you who post,
Writers, editors, chaplains, parents and educators from coast to coast.
Our freedoms aren't granted by just one faith's might,
But by those who serve and have served for every American’s right.
They fought for the right to vote for the candidate of our choice,
For every American’s right, to have a voice.
No matter the color of their skin, their age or sexual preferences,
Atop each Vets headstone you’ll discover a variety of religious references.
From every religion, every spiritual path,
Defenders of the Constitution, every paragraph.
Not just the Christian, the Hindu, the Jew,
The Muslim, the Buddhist, to name but a few.
Oaths not sworn to a crown but to the parchment of liberty's vow,
And the military code of justice, our protectors yesterday and now.
Please remember this truth as you post from afar,
Our unity's strength makes us who we are.
It’s RACE that disconnected us, RELIGION that separated us,
Our WEALTH has set us apart and POLITICS divided us’
So just what should the color of FREEDOM be?
For true patriots it’s the first word of our Constitution, “We…”
From childhood
Unto adulthood
I have tale-guided
My thoughts and inactions
Bible literature tells me that
Those who disobey God
Will find their space
In the sepulcher
While those who keep His commandments
Will join the heavenly host
And others
To celebrate with Pope Chaplains
‘Tis lucky me father lies in the grave,
Than t’see the havoc I have wreaked
In the name of actin’ bold and brave,
My misadventures dastardly peaked.
In this musky gaol I am wasting away
While me life passes before me eyes
Chaplains teaching me how to pray,
Give up with their lugubrious sighs.
Long since I no longer wish for home
Before the blazin’ fires of the hearth,
Cedar sizzles and marshmallows foam
My children giggle at songs of mirth.
And me here so cold behind these walls
I no longer dream of freedom’s will,
While me sentence spurts and stalls
I swallow punishment’s bitter swill.
SEVENTH PLACE WINNER
Written October 17, 2022
Submitted to "2022 Poetry Marathon Mile 18" Poetry Contest
Sponsored by Mark Toney
Fields of Crimson Poppies
David J Walker
Tonight I sleep
in fields
Of crimson poppies
Sunset has
Come and gone
And I alone
Await dawn
With brothers
Lined in rows
And this is how the
order goes
Red is the coverlet
that fills my eyes
And tilts my head
to see the coming sunrise
Promises made
by sainted chaplains
Yet unrealize
There will be shade
In the aftermath
Of the storm
What say you when a pig bathe in a muddy muck?
When he rolls merrily like 'tis panacea to his strain?
Don't you gawk at the amazing shuck
Could be to you 'tis a flaunt to his inert brain.
But how honey he embraces the muck-
When the sizzling lust for food slaps!
'Tis where he tanks up the lack
'Tis a divan for his daily naps
He rolls in it with sheer fun and joy,
Swaps spit with inner pathogens
To him's as sweet as the delicacy of soy
And dirt seems excite no antigens
But fools we the lookers
Who hate the act but love the actor
We're the daytime chaplains an' night's hookers
Musing the worthier and fudging the obvious factor
Don't we rear 'em and keep them?
And butcher 'em for pork?
And for sale don't we adulate 'em like gem?
Then why dub 'em berk?
With us is the knowledge and power-
To keep and care for these pigs
We can give 'em genial scour
And see 'em as moral prigs
NB: Exclusively for pig lovers.
Try to understand the natural meaning of this poem
Pain and struggle sometimes do take hold
Alone, terrible thoughts can take flight
Isolation intensifies, I feel so cold
A never ending descent into the night.
When a gentle gloved hand takes mine
And my pain soon begins to subside
And the darkness begins to decline
As a chaplain sits quietly at my bedside.
Hearing my plea for courage to return
Opening my soul for Him to come in
With the chaplains’ words, my soul did turn
Rebuilding with hope, to let healing begin.
Determined then to rise beyond the pain
This man of God helped me live again.
12/15/2016
Mr and Mrs private first class stationed
in Augsburg 15th battalion
second Calvary division canteens and sea rashins
were being distributed while we had four more
court martials. lined outside of the jag office
after a deferred payment plan failed again
der banke of Munich we settled in the
chaplains office to speak with der Bishop
to discuss baq. barracks and housing quarters
allowance why living on a no payment status
allowance covered wodka Cognac and three
kartens of cigarettes food and clothing
not allowances while preparing the family
to relocate again to Berlin havoc broke out
chaos arose thee Iraqi embassy under attack
der wand was stille covered in graffitii I retrieved
three stones as my chanook arrived it read
apo. new York Kennedy our convoy flew over
Kremlin and the eastern shores
The airplane's smoking tires kissed the landing strip at Dover.
The long flight bringing thirty brave men back home was over.
The nation mourns as one at the tragic loss of each precious life,
Who gave their all to rescue brothers caught up in terrible strife.
When the ramp is lowered, the Honor Guard will bear each coffin.
They know the drill well, since they have done this all too often.
Chaplains will intone quiet words of comfort and lead the last parade,
To honor each of them for laurels won for their righteous crusade.
They willingly placed national interests above their very own,
To ensure that our precious freedoms would ne'er be overthrown!
They performed magnificently with love, valor and dedication.
Alas, they won't parade or hear the acclaim of a grateful nation.
They will be borne to their final resting place in hallowed ground,
There, to sleep until the clarion call of Gabriel's bugle call will sound.
On that glorious morn He will present each with a regal crown,
Saying, "My dear son, you served Me and My people with great renown!"
Robert L. Hinshaw, CMSgt, USAF, Retired
© All Rights Reserved
After years of fighting a war, you are never the same
When the demon never dies and coming back for more
Tired and frustrated, but the will to live
To them it is just a game
You are ready to settle the score
So you can go on with life and live
We cannot fight it alone or will loose
Fighting a battle with many or by one's self
He want to help if we let him in
But that up for you to choose
The cost of war can take one's heath and wealth
And a battle you will never win
He can calm raging waters of a mad sea
Take a hurricane and turn it into a gentle breeze
These are things that he can do
Yes for you and me
What is difficult for us, to him is the greatest of ease
The darkest sky, he can make it a brightest blue
Every army needs many soldiers to fight
They also need many prayers and chaplains
If we have victory for all
Need a leader to lighten our load
To cut the defeats and increase wins
LET GOD BE OUR GENERAL
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