long walk Home

a torn page carries the sacred words

like a torn Savior carries His heavy cross

 

trails of blood herald redemption &

destruction like a mortally wounded

 victory song strewn over the raggedy

breath of a fallen hero

 

yesterday is a branch on the fire,

tomorrow is a hope on the shifting

desert winds

 

eternity is balanced on a bayonet blade;

a barefoot child walking a thin bridge

over the mouth of a restless volcano

 

he carries the page, follows the cross

and prays that he’s chosen the right path

 

today is the only truth to which he can attest,

and, today is the aftermath of a massacre

 

division of souls and subtraction of bodies

until life equals exponential pain

 

the sucking crimson hole in his side

says nobody who fights ever wins

 

they die for a feast eaten by cowards

and laggards who’ll never understand

the cost of Freedom   

 

he plants the flag on the mountaintop

and dies in its glorious shadow

with his Final Transmission clutched

to his chest

just like he’d always planned

 

it's been a long walk Home

Author's Note

For Mike......raised in West Palm Beach, Florida.......killed in Afghanistan

great soldier.....great friend

I loved the guy like a brother

Reviews

[NoneOfYourBusiness akaK..]

your heart pours through this heart wrenching, beautifully writ poetic tribute~

[Deborah Leah Krempa]

You have honored him well with this loving tribute, am so sorry for your loss. Very well written... Thank you for sharing, Debileah

[Jūdan FyreHeart]

This was beautifully done and hit a chord as my partner is expected to be going into the army this autumn.

[Hayley]

Hard poem to write. I'm sorry. I can feel your emotion and your pain. An amazing tribute

[Amy Bumpas]

This is a wonderful poem, and one of my favorites of
yours. Great tribute to your friend.

[Emily B]

oh, wow . . . I had so many thoughts as I read along . . . my condolences on the loss of your friend

[Kerry O'Connor]

yesterday is a branch on the fire,
tomorrow is a hope on the shifting
desert winds....

Such melancholy... how could one fail to feel every word like a knife wound?

[Vanessa Rico]

This definitely touched me and that is saying something since I am not normally what you would call a poetry person. Great job! I loved the fact that this poem was for someone that gave his life so that we can live freely!

[Robin]

long poem to write ...

[Mary]

very powerful i truely love the second stanza