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Speeches and Medals |
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The weapons have changed,
But the soldiers are the
same:
So proclaims a TV commercial
Advertising a game.
Through all the gory turmoil
Of Man's contentious
history,
The Cohorts and the Tommies,
The GIs like you
and me,
Mostly drift away, forgotten,
Once our
patriotic duty is done,
Designated �Yesterday's Heroes'
When there are no wars to be won
Or age and infirmity
have
So affected our reflexes
We can no longer swiftly
react
To the demands of war's excesses.
Wounded
bodies and psyches,
Mangled in those glorious wars,
Get bandages, speeches, and medals
And precious little
more.
Proud veterans bearing scars, both
Visible
and hidden from sight,
Wear those medals on special days,
But some secretly weep at night,
Haunted by thoughts
and visions
Bandages and medals cannot ease,
Forever
beset by stalking demons
No speech will ever appease. |
By Thurman P. Woodfork
Copyright 2007
Listed
February 26, 2011 |
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