21

We march slowly across the green plain

Our faces set and our shoulders squared

Courage and strength are all our eyes bared

So that we might serve this family in pain

The husband sits up, his face numb but clear

Resting in his lap, a child sits in awe

And to his left, their daughter starts to bawl

As we draw close, we see one of our own near

A boy, eighteen, uniform crisp and straight

Stood ready to receive our nation's good will

We folded the flag as the tears began to spill

Presented it to her son, who may share her fate

As the coffin was lowered and Taps on bugle cried

Twenty-one salutes fill her family with pride

Reviews

[Willard Wells]

Well done sad work, but very well done. I like it a lot. Very nice.

[Jesse W.]

Thank you for the review :) I'm glad you enjoyed it.

[MySecretMuse]

Anyone who has lost anyone in the military would be touched by this, myself included. The ending is what gave it power.

[Jesse W.]

I've attended a number of military funerals in my life, and each one held a note of distinction that I tried to depict with this poem. I wasn't feeling it until the end myself, which I thought gave it a poetic irony. Thanks for the review.