This is dedicated to my Grandpa Thomas (my Mothers Father) and all those who have gone before us; He wrote this many years ago and served in the Army during World War 2. He was a great poet and this is one of many he wrote.
Memorial Day
"That these dead shall not have died in vain!"
Do you recall Lincoln's phrase?
Those deathless words he uttered
in those dark and dreadful days?
And those dead that day of whom he spoke
are not the only ones,
For since that day at Gettysburg
we've given many sons.
To appease the hungry God of war
when he rears his ugly head
Claims as his price, the sacrifice,
of all the wounded and the dead.
The tyrants of the world decreed
and tried to justify,
That if we'd save our way of life
many men must die.
And so we have Memorial Day
to pay a portion of our debt
To those who gave their very lives
and whom sometimes we forget.
A day set aside in memory
of our dear departed sons,
Who fought the foe that threatened us
and faced the violent guns.
They did not choose a hero's death,
nor did they falter when it came.
They faced the future hopefully,
they sought not name or fame.
When they were young and dreaming dreams
it wasn't figured in their plan,
To sacrifice their precious life,
but each faced it like a man.
So in memory we've named this day
to pay homage once again.
To decorate--to consecrate--to pray
that they did not die in vain.
-Jess Thinkun -
(Kenneth Thomas)
