Short Ypres Poems

Luna comes to paint a portrait, 
each stroke fails to capture me. 
I pray this moon not find its 
muse in the reluctance of my 
memory. 

Tonight the stars above Ypres 
dance, to the rocket solar flairs.
The moon tonight so strong in 
indeed, for tonight my heart it 
bares....

Read More

Eleventh hour—
	young men perished,
	their hopes and dreams all lost:
	Ypres, The Marne, Verdun

of the
Eleventh day—
	silent, fell guns,
	and stillness took the front:
	Argonne, Belleau Wood, Amiens

of the
Eleventh month—
	the war men claimed
	would end all others:
	sadly, it did not...

Read More

in a rut
no, a trench.
pulled under like Ypres or Verdun
walls held up by bodies of dearly departed.
we gather here today because we have to.
so chew the dirt from fingernails, 
swim this mud sea.
six feet.
draped flags,
bedsheets, tablecloth rags
set the places.
mines flower on this grave....

Read More

A generation gone too soon, each tank, batallion or platoon;
They went with glory on their mind, and left the ones they loved behind;
A slaughter on a massive scale, at Flanders, Ypres and Passchendaele;
They marched into the fiercest fights, to defend their countries and protect our rights;
Still formed in rows as on parade, their ranks are now formed up in graves;
In Belgium, Holland and in France, salute them for rememberance....

Read More