Dennis S. Martin's Blog, page 18

Where Were You? 9/11/2001

Facedwith a typical Tuesday morning,

Nodrama on the workday schedule.

Arrivingearly in a caffeine stupor and

Readyto tread in tempestuous seas.

 

Thenews arrives slowly, trickling in:

Aplane, a building, small tragedy brewing.

Nothought of terror or hell-bent insanity.

That kind of thing doesn’thappen here.

 

Andthen it does –

A second catastrophe

Man-madein vengeance –

            No logic, no mercy.

Andnow a third and yet a fourth.

Howmany furies fly? How many innocents

Yetto perish ‘ere the nightmare resolves?

Howmany unanswered questions arise?

Wewatch, we wait, we pray for fair outcome,

Butdread obscures hope in a sickening mist.

 

Andthen the sky comes tumbling down,

Firstone then the other in fury and fire.

Andthe world stops turning as the toll keeps rising.

Westand in stunned silence, shivering, numb.

 

Ourresolve ferments as the dust starts to settle.

Weseek understanding but grasp only air.

Todaywe will grieve seeking out bitter comfort.

Tomorrowthe serpent – A duty to pay.

 

For Those Who Wait… and Weep

Itis not just the soldier who goes to war

Toboldly face the lost and lonely nights,

Wonderingwhat the next event might stir

Ina world where reality forestalls his precious light.

 

Father,mother, sister, brother, precious child

Cherishedlover all in one, all in tow

Hemuddles through the fallow furrowed trenches

Ofhis mind enrobed in murky hues of faded indigo.

 

Andhe and she and they who are forced to wait

Insilent proxy know his peerless pain,

Cryhis tears, feel the deepest fears that fills his night,

Thatend is near and he will never see his home again.

 

Amother weeps, a father keeps a stoic front

Thatfools no one – fools no one – no, not one.

Tear-stainedletters from a patient lover far away

Whosetender heart’s emotions are undone.

 

Theywill be with him every step of his travail

Asduty compels and he silently walks his keep.

Andfaith never falters, and hope knows no holiday

Forthose who wait…

Thosewho wait… and weep.

 

Duel in the Sand

Somemight say it was “not our concern,”

Butwhen humanity meets rebuff

Andsovereignty vanishes with the wind,

Someonemust stand and say “enough.”

 

Thestorm has been brewing for quite some time

Fromcauldrons deep beneath the earth

Whiletyrants bask in newfound wealth

Withoutregard for human worth.

 

Andnow these rogues have crossed the line

That’sdrawn from civil decency

Tostake a claim and conquer all

Inlands extending to the sea.

 

Butgainsay forces disapprove

Ascannons gather in the sand

Andform a fearful peerless shield

Tostill the manic firebrand.

 

Nowbrash defiance steeps a tempest

Buildingto a violent storm

Tosweep across the burning dunes

Determinedas a hornet’s swarm.

 

Buteven when the dust is settled

Underthe flaming desert sun,

Eachside lays claim to victory

Andno one knows who really won.

 

The Wall

Ihaven’t seen it (yet),

            But I survived it

Alongwith hundreds of thousands more

Wholeft no small part of a poor man’s soul

Lostand confused in a “no-man’s” war.

 

Fifty-eight thousand two two zero

Carvedon a wall of shimmering black.

FIVE-EIGHT-COMMA-TWO-TWO-ZERO

Brilliantbrave souls who didn’t come back.

 

Andtens upon tens upon thousands more

Whocame back unwhole in body, in-kind,

Tobe spat on, cursed and ridiculed by

Anation that seemed to be out of its mind.

 

Butthe wall stands tall and long and proud,

Themessage loud, the statement clear;

Thatthese represent the best of the best

Whogave everything without question or fear.

 

So,we view them with pride

            --With their brothers-in-arms –

Whenwe pause to reflect and recall.

Andshould we forget what true honor is worth

Weneed only stand close to the wall.

 

Korea

Bastardstook us by surprise

Pouringacross the thirty-eighth

Likeroaring banshees on steroids

Bashingdown the gates of hell.

 

Whythey want this damnable place

OnlySatan can be sure.

Butif they take Korea, where will it end?

Itseems impossible to tell.

 

The“red threat” has to perish here

Beforeit spreads across the sea,

Elsewe may lose all we hold

Offreedom, life and liberty.

 

Linesare drawn. A stalemate dawns

Andstill the clash ensues.

Sademissaries play their games and

Asboth sides bicker,

Bothsides lose.

 

Fivemillion precious souls are lost

Inthis gruesome “conflict” metaphor.

Whatkind of lie let’s so many die

Andthey won’t even call it a war.

 

Hiroshima

Noone wanted to be the one to

Unleashthe beast of devastation,

Tobe the first…

            First to give the order,

First to fly the fateful craft,

            First to target and release a

Massdestruction never known.

 

Decisionsoften can be fearful,

Someare near impossible,

Totake a life to save a life

Inmultiples unknowing,

Bothenemy and innocent

Reducedto vapor in an instant

Leavingthe victor to wave his flag

Andto glory in pure triumph.

 

Yethesitation haunts the cloud

Infountains of uncertainty.

Butmight is right. The end must be now.

Nexttarget, Nagasaki.

 

The Greatest Generation

Theirnumbers dwindle.

Alltoo soon they will be

Buta memory,

Thisselfless generation of a nation

Swornto liberty.

 

Aworld gone mad a second time,

Thecoils unflailing yet again;

Anevil Axis from the Rising Sun to

Blitzkrieg’sbitter train.

 

Apeaceful flock may be mistook,

Mightlook as though they just don’t care.

Butwoe to one who throws the stone

Anddares to wake the sleeping bear.

 

Andthe hibernating masses rose

Unquestioningthe narrative,

Theygave and gave and then gave more

Tilthere was nothing left to give.

 

Somany perished in the quest

Tobring perdition to an end.

Ageneration sworn to serve;

We’llnever see their likes again.

 

… To End All Wars

Didn’twant to get involved, but

Someonehad to end the mess;

Thoseadolescent-acting oafs, so deep

Entangledin distress.

 

Aspider’s web of horror

Overshadows“over there”, and

Theyneed to halt the madness

E’erit migrates “over here”.

 

So,off the Doughboy goes to

Crushthe Kaiser’s horrid hordes,

Andvows he’ll not return until

He’sstilled the rattled swords.

 

Throughthe muck and mist and mire of

Awretched no-man’s land,

Inchby inch and trench by trench

Heclashes hand to hand.

 

Intothe deep perdition,

Arisingfrom the catacomb,

Fulfillingevery promise

Tilsweet victory brings him home.

 

Andnow the task, the fearful task

Thatvictory implores,

Thatthis ungodly struggle be

Thewar to end all wars.

 

Blue or Gray

Differenttime – Different agenda –

Differentmindset – Same old story.

Unapologeticprofiteers

Insearch of gore and glory.

 

Cloudsof conflict born in anguish

Piratedo’er angry seas.

Beastof burden – sold – debased

Withbrash delight for all to see.

 

Passingdecades shape a wealth

Thatdisavows upright mores,

Castingshadows on a troubled land

Begettingblues and grays.

 

Nowthe angry argument is

Launchedupon the killing fields

Asboth believe their cause is just,

Andlosses rise as neither yields.

 

Butwhen it’s over a promise begins,

Acovenant to consummate

Whereall are equal and all can be free of

Grossdivisiveness and hate.

 

Andwhat was it they fought to free?

Theblessings of sweet liberty

Andequal justice for all men

Regardlessof their shade of skin.

 

The Defense of Baltimore

Shewas the key, this tidy port,

Thishaughty, so-called pirate’s nest

Standingdefiant in her measure

Tolash and seize and hoard her reward.

 

Tocapture this prize and bring her to heal

Couldgo far in quelling this newborn unrest

Andteach these upstart scallywags

Themight of their former overlord.

 

ButLord Baltimore’s children had different ideas,

Amassingin fields and thickets and woods

Saying“Let them come” marching in rank and file.

We’llcut them to ribbons and end this for good.

 

So,Ross with his army, his pomp and his pride

Embarksfrom the point on his fateful ride.

Hespeeds to the front in his rakish attire

Tobe felled in the flash of sharpshooter fire.

 

Andwhen on the field the armies collide

Ina battle that lasted only one day,

TheRedcoats concede to superior force

Andexit the pitch without further delay.

 

Theships in the harbor lay waste to McHenry

Asthe noble flag continues to waive,

Anda nation grows up by the dawn’s early light

Asthe land of the free and the home of the brave.