Take a Moment to Say Thanks

Take a moment, if you will

To think about and thank

Those who have made the

Ultimate sacrifice; who put their

Life on hold, so that you

Could walk in freedom and security.



Those who now lie in dignified repose

Beneath dark green grass and

Tombstones, ivory white or stained with age.

And, let us not forget, as we honor

Them; give a thought to those

Who lie in unmarked graves in

Far off lands, or beneath the tossing sea.



From the gritty city streets

To the dirt poor farms,

Rich, poor, black, white, brown, red, and yellow;

Sons, husbands, fathers, uncles, brothers,

And, in recent years, many sisters, too,

They gave the last full measure.



Take a moment, if you will

To remember that the freedom

You take for granted, is not free.

They made a down payment

In blood. Payments in tears

Of pain and loss by families

Who gave them willingly, so

That you might walk free.