The Unknown Soldier

The Unknown Soldier

Maybe

just maybe

you shouldn’t take on

such a hopeless

casualty of war.

My corpse has lived

 in this conflict zone

too long.

Maybe

Just maybe

it is time to accept

that deaths will occur.

Maybe

we should

bury our dead.

 

21/03/13

Reviews

[Louise]

I'm pretty sure this poem will stick with me for some time.
A pleasure as always, John.

[John Alexander McFadyen]

Many thanks Louise. I have not been active recently. Taking a break and will come back slowly.

[James E. Peterson]

something in my genre, imagery is quite vivid. well done old chap.

[John Alexander McFadyen]

Many, many thanks Kiran

[SHEEMA HUQ]

what I like about your writing is your clarity of convictions and I think that this one worked rather well

[John Alexander McFadyen]

Thank you Sheema I try not to dress up my words too much (most of the time!)

[SimpleMind]

'Maybe we should bury our dead'~

Very great write!

[John Alexander McFadyen]

Many thanks

[KAOlmsted]

Hm...if I am to be honest, and I like to think I am, always...I don't really get this one, which is an unusual place in which I find you and I at the mo, John...I don't really know what to do in this situation as I am quite positive it has never before presented itself. Social etiquette dictates I be tactful and polite, and offer a resounding "Well done!" and leave it at that. My continued friendship with you, and our level of comfort with one another, is assuring me I can say what I feel, and not have that friendship compromised, and I tend to go with my gut in situations such as these. So. Yeah. I don't get it. There is a casualty of war, which might be a metaphor for someone who has been in relationship after relationship and is just exhausted from the battle, but then there is a corpse--a LIVING corpse, mind you--which threw me right off that train of thought, and then there is this plea for the acceptance of death...doesn't casualty of war suggest death has already occurred? And, yes, we absolutely should bury our dead...which brought me back to thinking this was a metaphor for relationships again. *sigh* I admit defeat on this one, John. You broke me. I have little doubt you will patch me back up with the next write, but this one...this one...I need to shake this one off and focus on the next one.

;-)

[John Alexander McFadyen]

Kimmer I am sorry to have set such a dilemma for you but I am so awed that you took the time to really try to understand this piece. It's actually meant to be self reflection the protagonist is talking to himself. Rehearsing the question to his new partner that maybe she should not get involved because he is feeling damaged by several failed relationships. Then he muses that perhaps he should have the strength to move on from these failures. Hope that helps?

[Frieda P]

Now this makes perfect sense, and resonates in my bones John!

[KAOlmsted]

Okay, so I was part way right...and that, really, is all that matters *laugh* Thanks for the explanation, John...I appreciate it. And now that I read it again, I guess I can see that. So. A resounding "Well done!" and thank you for sharing it with us ;-)

[Keith LaFountaine]

Great job as always John. I love your structure and your message. Great poem from top to bottom. Keep up the good work my friend!

[John Alexander McFadyen]

Keith your reviews as so appreciated and I thank you for your support!

[Allan W]

Six feet deep below! Bury them deep! There is no maybe. As long as love is truelly dead! And as long as they don't come back like zombies!

Also works well as an anti war poem. And yet another poem that shares it's title with another of my favourite songs (The Doors, this time!)

[John Alexander McFadyen]

Thank you again Allan. Yes easier said than done. Many times our past loves are either in shallow graves or are the walking dead to us!

[Claire Twinn]

We should indeed, but it's so hard to give up and let go sometimes.

[John Alexander McFadyen]

True Claire, true.

[Junert]

Yeah. Totally agree.

[spiritwind]

Sadly many relationships--romantic or friendship or partnership-- have an expiration date imprinted where we cannot see but we will find it on the tombstone of the relationship one day. Our personalities have a shelf life before we grow out of them and the people we have surrounded ourselves with. It's too bad we don't say farewell to each other in a way that validates each other instead of wiping our feet on each other on our way out the door.