POETRY: Memorial Day
MEMORIAL DAY
Memorial Day – as children we cheered
To enjoy a day off of school.
We marched in parades and listened to bands
And picnicked and opened the pool.
We’d wave our flags as the bands went by
And helped to plant flowers on graves.
But we wondered why sadness was hidden beneath
The pleasurable mood of the day.
And so as we grew, we learned the real truth
About what this day should recall.
Our history books brought the past back to life;
We heard stories from vets who saw it all.
We read about valor and brave acts of courage,
Of solidarity and following orders.
We heard stores of friendships and lives that were lost
While trying to save someone’s borders.
Our soldiers helped end World War 1 over there.
In World War 2, they pushed Hitler back.
Then our troops went to Korea and North Vietnam,
The Persian Gulf, Afghanistan and Iraq.
And through it all, living just day to day,
They faced their enemies and their fears.
They fought bravely, stoically and courageously;
Left with good and bad memories for years.
America’s veterans have all served her well,
Each made sacrifices while they served.
The Navy and Coast Guard, Air Force and Army,
The Marines and our local reserves.
So we should remember these brave men and women;
And their families who each played their part.
On the last Monday in May, each American should stand,
And salute them with hand over heart.
MARTHA WOODRUFF
Lake Wales
PRETTY ROOMS
So, let us imagine a chamber where
The greatest art of the age hangs on walls;
And, as we spend delightful hours there,
Gentle, lovely music upon us falls.
Then, as night comes on, let love find us in
A plush, carpeted space in such a bed
That, once we’re done, we can’t wait to begin
Again to converse, though no words be said.
This world can be a gruesome, awful place
With disease and death, and with warring things
That set a foul grimace upon our face
And rob us of the music our heart sings.
Since we deserve better than all these glooms,
Let us now build in sonnets pretty rooms.
ROBERT P. TUCKER
Lakeland
BETWEEN THE RAIN STORMS
Ah yes, Florida in early spring, when the rain clouds drift through
in parades large and small,
At various speeds, fast and slow, and wind, sometimes too serious
to ignore
And in between the dark clouds, seeking to soak us really good,
We are overjoyed to see the gorgeous amaryllis, bursting
with the brilliant red blooms, we all adore
And the hedges in the neighborhoods, so drab for months,
Have come alive with color, stunning purple, pink and various reds,
As if a magic painter changed them all in the dark of night
With a huge colorful brush to dazzle our heads
Oh, Dear Spring, how we love you and welcome your return
We look forward to the greatness by which Florida’s summers are filled
We know the rain is not forever, it will always move away
So, we dream between the rain storms in the Spring, of summer’s joy,
and reasons to be thrilled
DENNIS C. ORVIS
Winter Haven
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This article originally appeared on The Ledger: WRITE ON
