the edge of Normandy back then
we like the beach
don’t we
and
for a moment
did a soldier
think if
in
a sliced half-minute
before
before getting to take a second
step
from the landing ramp
a couple thoughts
like
this is the beach
and
I think
I’d like the beach
being
from the real Omaha and
never stepping
on
warm sand before
and
should there be
a third
step
on the beach
c l couch
photo by Daria Strategy on Unsplash
Breakages
(for D-Day)
Monuments
Stand
This is the day
They reach
And many of us
Reach with them
Which was
A multinational effort
You know
North Americans
Europeans
Against their own
Our own
A sibling conflict as
Such conflicts are
Each
And every
Tragic time
And can you imagine
The ranks included
Homosexuals
Bisexuals
How many immigrants
And refugees
Those whose English
Or a native language
Wasn’t easy
Even the homeless
Even the criminal
Maybe the left-handed
Too
Also the atheist
Agnostic
Muslim
Hindu
Shinto
All other codes
With those
Who had nothing official
To adhere to
The young
The beautiful
The misformed
Too
All those who hearts
Were broken
On the beaches
And what happened to their bodies
And their minds
And maybe touched
Their patriotism
Though the
Preponderance
Moved forward
I’m sorry
You want
To think
Of everyone
Involved
Of all the same
The same
But what we know
For sure
Is all were one
Were one
That day
And in the days
Succeeding
As the world was taken
Back into its own
And
By the end
Of the year
The human race
Could after years
More freely
Run its own
C L Couch
“I’d never seen so many dead men”
voice of a D-Day veteran
Photo by David Hohl on Unsplash
(x = space)
x
x
Wars that Cannot End All Wars
(on D-Day citing Second, other wars)
x
I can’t imagine
All the dead and dying on
That day
I won’t see or hear
Private Ryan
(or
by the way
Titanic)
I’ve known some injury and
Death
From crashes and
From cancer
The
Suicides
By people I have known
x
Sardined into a craft and then
The craft
By planes above
Or guns on shore
Explodes
On its way
To shore
Or those who leave
The boats
And are cut down
Unused guns
Held
Grenades
At hand
x
By the numbers the
Campaign
Was successful
In that the Allies
Overwhelmed the beaches
Finally
Finally
The parts once come together
A hold by hand
As far as
The living and the dead can
Hold
A military grasp
On the edge of Europe
x
A return
As when
MacArthur would return
An axis away
To the Philippines
x
Military plans
And executions
When it’s
Time
We go
x
Citizen expectations
Change
The accepted loss
In Desert Storm
Was zero
(under two
hundred
died)
Though we lingered
In Afghanistan through
Presidents
The war on terror
By the numbers
And at home
x
These were their homes
The beaches
On into
Farms and towns
War anymore
Is always a home
Matter
Your home
Or mine
x
Imagine that
And live it in
Ukraine
And all the burning places
That could be called
Without PR
Sites
Homes
For war
x
Trenches
Chlorine gas
Same place
Years before
That is
France
Greater numbers next
Nuclear
Numbers
In Japan
Winning
Losing
Graves attest
x
Mostly
We try
Nowadays
To keep all of it conventional
Though there are strategies
And plans
That
We must hope
Stay shelved
Recalling
Greater victory is peace
Living on
These same places
This
Same planet
After
x
C L Couch
x
x
6 June 1944
x
as soon as I realized the date there was a Western (admittedly) instinctive resonance—that something enormous, consequential happened on this date when it was a day a long time ago
x
Photo by Eric HOARAU on Unsplash
x
(x = space)
x
x
Toward the Ending of a Great War
(for 6 June 1944)
x
Today, many soldiers died
On all sides
x
Many civilians as well
In their towns
And on their fields,
Whole families
And many animals
x
For children
And for parents
We can’t imagine worse
Except for plague and
Drought, which are
Other kinds
Of war
x
The despot didn’t die
And would lead its people
Through
Ongoing and great suffering
x
Awful suffering,
Horrible—blooded,
Vivisected,
Tactical annihilation
By its hand
x
Today, many soldiers died
And civilians;
Many soldiers and civilians live
Then and now
x
C L Couch
x
x
Photo by Shalev Cohen on Unsplash
x
clcouch123 
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