Unknown soldiers.

April poetry number nineteen...

Unknown soldiers.,..

He wrote to his journal in a Soldier graveyard in France outside of Paris in 1979. The dead don't suffer no-more. He is surrounded by 40,000 crosses with names of boys and men who will not return home. He burn the white sage in the place of the unknown soldiers. He lay his small tee-pee on the grass and put the burning sage into the hole in the tee-pee.

He watches the smoke rises to the sky and he prayed. Soldiers have a place to rest, soldiers have a place to know peace. He felt great sadness. He knew mamas, wives and children are waiting still. When a soldier doesn't return home. Someone is waiting.

He wondered, if God is kinder to the unknown soldiers? Men and women, nameless and not forgotten. He walked the long lines of white crosses with no names, just dates and their war.

He wonder if the dead could talk. What would they say? Soldiers fight, soldiers die. Left, right. Left, right. Above face. One shot, one kill. I remember you my lost friends.

Coyote

Author's Note

Thank you for reading.

Reviews

[Fabian G. Franklin]

Most soldiers alive today volunteered to serve. There are intrinsic job hazards to being a soldier, i.e., being shot at and being forced to shoot back. They tell the youth to sign up and fight for "freedom" but the greatest threat to American freedom resides in Washington D.C., not in Afghanistan or Iraq. They call the fallen "heroes" who willingly signed up for a job they were paid to do. If a tree falls on a logger they don't call him a "hero" when he dies. They call that a "tragedy". I understand the compassion for those who are drafted and elected into a conflict they did not choose, yet. serve bravely, despite their moral, political or religious objections. I could almost call them "heroes". On the other hand, those who join to serve and accept pay for their service; who knowingly enter a profession of killing and dying despite the obvious dangers, I believe to be no more heroes than the logger when the tree he was cutting fell on him. They are victims of an occupational hazard, not "heroes". My opinion may be an unpopular one but it is an honest evaluation of seeing through the bureaucratic shuck and jive made so popular by politicians who sit in cushy offices while others do their fighting and dying for them.

[Coyote Poetry]

Sometimes we must fight. Ukraine and many places are being attacked. Run or fight. Where do you run to? Oldest and greatest wisdom. The art of war. Must have good defense to stop war. Till the world put away the hate, the guns. Won't need soldiers. Soldiers will fight and die for home, freedom. I did.

[Fabian G. Franklin]

But they aren't dying for freedom or home, which is my point. They are dying for some politician's failed global agenda. My freedom has never been threatened by Saddam Hussein or Ho Chi Min. It gets threatened every day by the bureaucrats in D.C. though. Colin Powell lied when he said there was evidence of "weapons of mass destruction" so he could please his bosses. And American soldiers died because of those lies, not from any threat at all. It happens all the time. Ask some Vietnam Vets what they were fighting for in that war. We lost so if it was for freedom, then our freedom, (which we still have) would have become forfeit when we lost. That makes sense. The government, on the other hand, not so much. I wouldn't take a job at a place that didn't have good health insurance and carried Workman's Compensation. But the military has to beg for funds to help wounded soldiers from programs like The Wounded Warrior Project. The VA is a cruel joke. Biden won't fight, he'll talk sanction nonsense until everyone is bored and that's about it. I'm not suggesting anyone should "run" as you say. I'm suggesting that our leaders poorly choose the conflicts in which they involve the American people as is made obvious by recent history.

[Miss Sharon]

(Soldiers fight, soldiers die. Left, right. Left, right. Above face. One shot, one kill. I remember you my lost friends.) I am weeping as I read these words. And I will remember those we have lost. ~Sharon

[Coyote Poetry]

Thank you dear Sharon. The wars keep stealing from us my friend.

[Ken Simm.]

Knowing that you have served makes this write all the more poignant, John.

[Coyote Poetry]

Thank you Ken. I appreciate the comment.

[Gee]

Across the world cemeteries like the one you describe exist, man will never learn.
There is sadness and resignation in your well written words.
Good morning

[Coyote Poetry]

Good morning dear Gee. WW2 was suppose to be the last war. Thank you for reading and the comment.

[Soren]

This is a sad piece. Melancholic and in some ways dark yet in others peaceful and a tribute. Well written Coyote

[Coyote Poetry]

The graveyard outside of Paris. Well-kept. They showed respect for the soldiers. Thank you for reading and the comment Soren.

[Neville]

I believe I may have visited the same cemetery Coyote .. I have visited so many throughout France & Belgium over the years and regularly made an annual pilgrimage until Covid hit .. your post above is a fine testament and tribute to so many fallen souls .................... an outstanding poem with a real autobiographical feel ....... respect sir and much of it .. Neville

[Coyote Poetry]

Thank you Neville. The soldiers graveyards show us. Freedom isn't free.

[Patricia Wedel]

Red Poppies in our 💜 Heart… thank you for your Service…. Rest In Peace… Never forgotten… Amen …. 🌺 Pat

[Coyote Poetry]

I agree dear Pat. We must remember them. Thank you for reading and the comment.

[Dave Brown]

war is a three letter word

[Coyote Poetry]

I agree Dave.

[John the Baptist]

Few places have more soldier graves than France, and many of those graves belong to Americans. And you're right, the suffering belongs not only to the dead, but also to those who cared for them. And even as I write, soldier graves are being dug in Ukraine. Makes me think of the words of the old '60's song, "When will they ever learn?"

[Coyote Poetry]

"When will they ever learn?", I agree my friend. I hope men can seek peace over war. But I don't believe can happen.

[cheyenne s garcia]

This was great to read. Very sad. Enjoyed very much.

[Coyote Poetry]

Thank you dear Cheyenne. I appreciate the comment.