Above My Bloody Fist 10-11-13

The waves would make, across the lake,

their way to other side.

I had a task, so I had asked

if I could hitch a ride.

"We are not fools.  We follow rules.

Just find a boat to rent."

So "No." they said, which turned me red,

in deep embarrassment.

The breezes blew.  I knew them too -

but could I fly away?

I know I'm old and not so bold -

and much too shy to say,

"Please do not fail to let me sail

up where the seabirds soar.

We'll get along.  I won't be long..."

then tried so, all the more.

In all the earth, have I no worth?

I wondered, "Was it true?"

I saw leaves dance and viewed my chance.

They seemed to beckon too...

But then they yelled, "Hey, duck your head -

for we are passing by!"

My eyes got red.  I bowed my head -

as tear came to my eye.

The places vast, the faces masked.

The people know me not.

And now today, I'm in their way -

Memories - all I've got.

To do what's right we had to fight.

There was no other way.

The heroes I had fought beside

had met their Lord that day.

With muddy gun, it was no fun -

not like a hand-held game.

The bombs were real and I could feel

the pain that always came.

There was a time when 'will' was mine

and I had much more hope.

It was a chore to take the shore

and scramble muddy slope.

The bullets flew, the booming grew -

when planted with a twist -

but colors loomed when wind resumed,

above my bloody fist.

Oh, how we fought!  The wounds we caught

as blood mixed with our sweat -

but showed the world when it unfurled,

the flag that we had set.

Though day has dawned, my friends are gone.

The waves march 'cross the lake.

Though friend or foe, no man can know

the liberties they take.

For if they knew what we went through

(where they were never sent) -

they'd not uproot, but would salute

our sacred monument.

2013 louis gander ALL RIGHTS RESERVED

http://www.ganderpoems.org/

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Bridge, The 10-6-13

A hungry crow soars high above where wicked winds doth blow

to see if there will be some scraps of tasty food below.

Our train is flying down the tracks.  On 'hope' and 'change', we go.

The bridge between the mountain's out, (but no one's in-the-know).

We're asked, while on our merry way, to pay what others owe -

in premiums.  Obamacare, it's good for 'so and so'.

Will we be forced to pay for it?  Will they take all our dough?

And soon extinct - 'good healthcare' gone - a thing of long ago.

The engineer had parts delayed, attempting to forego

a sure disaster for his friends, while doctors are in woe.

They scatter from their practices as lines for healthcare show.

We ask, "Oh, please negotiate" -but engineer screams, "No!

"Just shut down everything we have, from seas to rivers' flow,

from monuments for veterans to where sequoias grow!

Then shut down everything we do - except still stomp the toes

of all who disagree with me and hosts of their talk shows!"

Exemptions paid off union shops but no, not "plumber Joe" -

who rides with all us passengers and sees that starving crow -

which soars the highest mountain tops - peers canyon floor below.

As train is flying down the tracks, what halts a big ego?

2013 louis gander ALL RIGHTS RESERVED

http://www.ganderpoems.org/

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Where's the incentive to be responsible- if it's acceptable to be irresponsible?

Where's the incentive to save money- if others are required to pay our bills?

Where's the incentive to love others- if it's all about loving ourselves?

Where's the incentive to help others- if it's just all about us?

A soul, once dead, is not always lost -

but a Nation, once lost, is forever dead.

Ask Rome.