..
The flag was lowered to half-mast again.
Another brave Michigan soldier has met their end.
A Mother sobs, a young wife asks why.
A child is fatherless, a teen-age brother stays high.
Is OUR freedom threatened?
Are they protecting our soil?
Is the motive Honorable?
Is the motive about oil?
Whatever the reason, the result is the same.
Long after Thanksgiving Dinner...
An empty chair will remain!
.
.
Everytime a soldier from Michigan dies overseas
Our Governor declares that ALL flags fly at half-mast
A young man from Marine City lost his life in Afganistan last week-end.
I can't stop thinking about his family.
If you have any poetry or prose laying around come Wednesday...
Post it on your blog, and go tell the Great Crew over at One Stop Poetry.
They host a weekly Theme called One Shot Wednesday....Here!
Next week is Thanksgiving Week, and I'm giving EVERYONE
Thanksgiving Week-End off.
More on this later....G
31 comments:
Son of a long time friend of mine is in Afganistan. Everytime I read of a local soldier's death I am reminded of how awful it must feel to lose a son, brother, father, husband. Thanks, Galen, for this salient reminder.
This is a parent's nightmare and the questions you ask, we should never ever stop asking.
A good move by Gov. Granholm to fly the flags at half-mast.
The town I live in has an Army post and an Airforce base within arm's reach. Every time our boys (and girls) deploy, my heart is heavy for them and for their families. Perhaps if more folks asked, "WHY??" as you've done so powerfully, here...
It's a timely question and about nine years overdue.
How does flying a flag at half-mast really help anyone? If one of my kids died, it would bring me no solace. How about we stop sending people to fight futile wars?
I think you'd be hard pressed to find someone that didn't know *someone* in Afghanistan. We are all united in our desire for a safe return for our family, friends, and neighbors.
Powerful stuff, g-man.
xo
PS - Thanksgiving? That was AGES ago now. But when I don't go to work on Thurs, I'm going to tell my boss that you gave me the day off, okay?
What a timely reminder. It's just so unfortunate that we need to be reminded about the loss of life we continue to experience. We at Eden Hills, have joined the goats movement to stand for PEACE.
My human's poem is here. http://razzamadazzle.wordpress.com/2010/11/16/sorry/
Thanks for posting this. No other words...
forgone and forgotten
A poignant reminder of not only the horrors of war but of the lingering effects. Wouldn't it be wonderful if there were no more wars?
i pray that very soon our young men and women can come home so fewer parents have to endure that empty chair. glad to know your governor recognizes that sacrifice properly.
Great tribute to another lost soldier.
A difficult holiday for many families.
thanks G for the humbling reminder -
while we are enjoying our comfort men and women are giving their time, comfort perhaps their lives.
Appreciate the sobering One Shot
Moon hugs for a hurting Michigan family
Your poem touched my heart. My nephew was sent to Irag las week - for the third time. Our family is so concerned for him. Thank you for your poem.
My eldest has been asking me questions about soldiers and wars since Remembrance day. these lines give voice to the difficult things to explain to a 5yr-old. To many whys to answer. Excellent piece G-Man
I saw a fitting sign the other day
We can't feed the poor
but we can fund a war.
I come from a huge military based family. I feel so lucky to still have all of them.
--snow
This is really sad. I wonder how long its going to last...
Galen, I am an auntie again!
burly biker,
you are poetic.
the first time I recorded my poems on the radio, another storyteller on the program told her fathers tale of "Making a lot from alittle" during the holidays. They invited a new soldier for Christmas dinner in California, near the base where he/she was about to be deployed to WWII in Europe. He used a record machine to record his/her voice in a letter to the family before deployment overseas. Every year, what a lesson to his children.
keep the poetry coming, dude.
Fab Di
Long after Thanksgiving Dinner...
An empty chair will remain!
Very sad and yet strong lines
Very poignant. Beautifully expressed.
All the best, Boonie
actually so beautifully written all I can say is thank you for sharing it~
T'day hell how did get to be T'day already!! DAY OFF?!! What purpose will I have then?
I can't imagine the pain that family is going through. Beautifully expressed, G. The image of the empty chair...that will stay with me.
It seems that every day on the news another of our soldiers has lost their life. It's just so sad. :(
dang g...that empty chair is sad...and what is it he died for...
That was beautiful, G-Man! A wonderful tribute honoring our soldiers and some strong questions asked that need answers.
(Let's hope those misguided, slef-righteous Westboro Baptist Church a-holes don't disrupt and defame the funeral of our Michigan soldier!)
dang galen - that hit!
a nightmare for every mother and father who lose a son in a war - no matter if fighting for good or bad reason..
respect for a well done poem on such a difficult topic
I just can't begin to describe how sad this post makes me.
Let's bring the men and women home forever. And soon.
xo
This is so sad, Galen, and the story of too many families. It's a horrible consequence of "serving your country," but somehow, this seems to be in the service of something else, and it just should not happen.
I liked the story of the jar... and this one verse is good too... a great thought and I was touched in reading it...
ॐ नमः शिवाय
Om Namah Shivaya
Twitter: @VerseEveryDay
Blog: http://shadowdancingwithmind.blogspot.com
I think often of the mother's who have and have had son's and daughters at war...not knowing if they will return home...what a burden and misery...thank you for sharing this moving post G-man!
Very poignant poem, Galen.
Us Brits are getting blown up without a fight.
How come well trained soldiers from The US and UK are used as mine testers?
Something is logically wrong.
Great post.
Best Wishes,
A Limey.
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