In honor of the soldiers of the Normandie beaches and all others besides
The old man walks
onto the beach
where the sea still surges
and the wind still stings
just as it did on that day.
he sees the sand
and smells the blood
that stains it
he sees the waves
and hears the men
that drown
he closes his eyes
and remembers
he sits
down
besides the fallen
besides his friends
and thinks
about the madness
at world's end
on that day
he sees the shots
fired
he sees the sands
burst
he sees the men
fall
he sees himself
cursed
to be borne to war
blessed
to live to see it end
to come back
to make amends
for that day.
when the flags failed and
the men fell
when this place on earth
turned to hell
he turns to the sea
and remembers
he turns to the sea
and weeps.
for the soldiers
for the friends
for the families
for those whose memories
we keep.
As usual, please be considerate and don't steal my writing. (Feel free to use it, but please give me credit!)
