graves say
(because they do)
hear them
while
we look at them and
hear
a message
as
we might wonder if they like the rows
or would they rather follow
contours
helter-skelter
around
trees
or as combined
through dells and over knolls
and gently curved
plus
with a wish for wildness
yet
they say at any time
so then
maybe we hear
and for certain days
articulate
a familied story from one loved or
waving narratives from
all the stones
c l couch
for Memorial Day
photo by Gabe Pierce on Unsplash
In the USA, Memorial Day is the last Monday in May (so this year 26); the day is a formal time for remembrance, mourning, and gratitude.
lamentation is a season
(for Memorial Day 2024)
sad remembrance
the activity
and the state
of sad remembrance
who has died
and is ahead of us
in honored state
or imprisoned
inside something
of
we don’t know what
or in what part
what nation host
sought pride
in this
rows of
flags
metal stars
on metal sticks
symbols of
faith
the Star of David
or Arabic
or a cross
or blank for those
with no tradition
save
to have died
mortally
to save
and at the monuments
here
in England
France
perhaps in diplomatic squares
in Africa
and Asia
also in the
Anzac places
there will be some
marching
and many will salute
and we’ll officially remember
or in homes
the absences
that war
and war-like actions
they responded to
have made
we’ll tell stories
and we should
we’ll hear new parts
and oft-repeated
passages
and both are good
and sad for
reason
for the purpose
of our meeting
we’ll also celebrate
though maybe
not so far
that we forget
what we should recall
and have a flag for
and a photograph
whatever sort
of tableaux
with a little more
to say
this was our aunt
our uncle
our ancestors
or our parents
or our children
or
our neighbors
we lament
and also adulate
this day
c l couch
(the preacher preached from Lamentations and about Memorial Day today)
photo by Tanner Ross on Unsplash
(x = space)
x
x
Remembrance of Things and People Past
(Memorial Day 2023)
x
My grandfather was a doughboy
Another one
(I knew him more)
Cooked for the
Army in
The second war
x
My father served
In the war that followed
The war no one remembers
But cost lives
Of bodes and the souls therein
And for lack of
Remembering
Because remembering
Matters much
x
It’s a thought
A salute
And a parade
To visit flags on graves
Before we shop
Before we picnic
x
Mind you
Shopping and picnicking
Ain’t bad
Rights and privileges
Secured
Silly to you
Perhaps
There’s also watching war movies
On TCM
x
Arcane remembrances
We still make war movies
We still shop
And eat outside
Save rain
To drive companionship
Inside
x
Be inside
Be there
Be aware
Remembrance is a near miss
From experience
What follows war
Was bought for us
Our own secular
Allegiances
And promise
In significant
And blessed silly
Existence
x
God bless peace
And forestall war
And keep us faithful
To each other
More so to you
x
C L Couch
x
x
Photo by Wesley Mc Lachlan on Unsplash
Corning, Corning, United States
x
(x = space)
x
x
They Wave Farewell
(Memorial Day, USA)
x
Red
(with white and blue)
Waving over fields
Dropping morning dew
x
For us
It is remembering
A waving day of it
Poppy remembering
x
Nature teaches
And must be
A burying place for war
The fields wave
The children wave
We wave
They wave farewell
x
Nature weeps
With dew, with rain, with
Anything that falls
All of us may fall
And weep
We may weep
For the children
(all are children)
Of the world
x
C L Couch
x
x
Photo by Wolfgang Hasselmann on Unsplash
x
(x = space)
x
x
Memorial Day in the USA
(2021)
x
It is a holiday in the USA
I suppose the sales are good
And there will be
Shiny fireworks
Reminding us the day means,
Well, something
x
There are days like this
Around the world,
As there should be:
Remembrances of those
Who fought and
Died in war
x
The wisdom of strategy
And final choices
Is not on the program;
Like the Light Brigade,
There are those
Who served
Because they served
x
Remember them,
Because their loss
Is the foundation
For unfought
Wars over silent
Battlefields
That were and are
And will be,
Someday
x
C L Couch
x
x
Golden Stars
Photo by Dan Dennis on Unsplash
World War II Memorial, Independence Avenue Southwest, Washington, DC, USA
x
Ask Any Soldier
“When your friend
Gets killed, part of you
Gets killed”
A testimony and
Remembrance for
USA Memorial Day
Which I can only
Guess is right since
I have friends gone
In other ways, and
They and those parts
Of me yet feel lost
To lose through war
When targets seem
A random strategy:
Colors, shapes, tribes
On a map or guessed
At over a hill
Loss of life or partial
Life must feel
The height of
Unselected cruelty
On a pillar of
Senselessness
If a citizen salute
Might count, then
Listen to one
Expressing in
Tribute to
Patriot sacrifice
And personal
Complexity in
Service
Thanks is not enough,
So memory is offered
And legacy of
Better nations
C L Couch
(quotation from the AHC channel)
clcouch123 
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