Sestina for Veteran's Day

In honor of our Nation's heroes, both living and dead....
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Upon another battlefield, they lie in the hot sun,
Their earthly struggles now ended; their time on earth now gone;
Lifeless bodies crumpled on this field of strife;
Lifeblood oozing freely into the cratered earth.
Blind eyes staring blankly at smoky, sooty skies-
They are no more; they heard their nation's call…


When danger came, they heard their nation's call;
And everything they held dear under the sun -
Home, hearth and family, and peaceful sunny skies -
They left behind; their halcyon days were gone.
They grabbed their guns and marched the earth
To defend the land they loved on bloody fields of strife.


At Lexington and Bunker Hill, those early fields of strife,
Dreams of liberty and justice to patriots' hearts did call.
In winter's gale, their bloody footprints stain'd the snowy earth
And in the stifling heat of summer, beneath a sweltering sun,
They marched and fought fearlessly until each day was gone,
And then they took what rest they could under moonlit skies…


A nation tore itself asunder beneath blue and gray skies;
And bitter enemies gather'd on new fields of strife:
Brother against brother; father versus son... thousands more gone,
And they, patriots all, once again heeded their nation's call
To arms; and once again they met their foes under a blood-red sun.
And once again, the blood of patriots tinged the ravaged earth.


A new century dawned; and all over this war-torn earth,
The rising crescendo of battle was heard from foreign skies.
Again these heroes stood to post, their faces to the sun;
Again, when danger came, they answered their nation's call;
Again, they marched toward the sound of gunfire on fields of strife;
Again, they hoped and prayed for peace; but days of peace were gone.




Listen now to the plaintive bugle, its notes now lingering, now gone,
Hear the sorrowful muffled drums announce to the war-weary earth:
Another veteran is coming home, who answered a patriot's call;
Another hero now lies at rest, at home under peaceful, skies.
We honor those who fought for us, enduring fields of strife,
We honor them, our nation's heroes, who shine like the midday sun.


Hear my call: Seek peace and let all war be gone
From under the sun and every corner of the earth.
Let peace rule the skies; and may our world be free from strife…