We Still Mourn ~ Memorial Day

Flowered wreaths
Upon stands
A folded flag
Is in her hands

Her world is changed
Her love is gone
A bugle plays
One final song

As song she’s heard
A hundred times
For each close friend
Left behind

Behind in sense
Of gone, of lost
A life laid down
A counted cost

Some never left
The battleground
Some came home
But no peace found

In mourning on
Memorial Day
We few remember
Just what was paid

For us this day
Means more than sun
And barbecues
And beach-time fun

We’ll wear a smile
And play the game
Remembering its
Why you came

While we few hold
In deepest parts
The brotherhood
Of broken hearts

And memories
Of those who’ve died
Of lives cut short
In our eyes the truth belies

In quiet corners
In noisy rooms
We raise a glass
We toast your doom

We tell your tales
Your heroes song
With each new verse
We laugh along

Until the pain
Becomes to real
And someone finally
Breaks the seal

“Until Valhalla”
We whisper, sad,
Mourning you still
And the life you had

Flowered wreaths
White marble stones
Little flags waving
We still mourn

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For those who have laid down their lives in service to our country ~ originally published Memorial Day observed May 28, 2018