I imagine the sad, graceless way that you fell,
feel the slow bullets sucking you down.
My dreams repeat the falling, escaping of breath,
in that dust on the outskirts of town.
How can we breathe in this fogging of death,
in an absence of air, which can drown?
What is there but pain for the bruis'ed survivor,
in the punch-drunk fighter's last round?
No shame in your falling, yet no honour in death,
as the government covers its mouth.
They send this country's children to war in a breath,
but the absence of 'thank you' resounds.
Yet for the all of the crying and aching and hate,
they say life carries on to be found.
Brother, take this mingling of loss and of life
and push up new hope through dry ground.
Bear our hearts on your lips, now beyond the veil,
at attention, unspeaking a sound.
If receiving one medal will never ease our pain,
Then three colours I'll plant on this mound.
Red, white and blue, to honour your falling,
Wear them proudly, forever, from now.
Author notes
The refusal of this country to posthumously honour a brave fallen soldier,
A contest entry
- Lie to Me by Justin.
875 points, ended June 17, 2008, 22 entries
• next poem in this contest, remove from contest
Comments
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Wow.... you certainly went for a big lie.
"Sincere" is definitely the right word to describe what I thought.
The rhymes in this poem did not sound forced at all. Also, the flawless flow was very nicely accomplished.
Thank you for this entry. It was a great write!
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As per the prompt for this contest..."Lie to me"..I find it compelling that this was done with great care! Governments do lie about the casulities of war...and thieir tactics in battle. Thank you for reminding what is important! Even if it is based on a lie!
~Sie
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