Memorial Day Poetry

Memorial Day Poetry

1 comment

Holidays, literature, seasons

Share It:

I hope you are all having a blessed Memorial Day. My intention was to find a poem to sum up my feelings and share it with you but I could't find one. I found several: poems with elegant words and strings of rhyme that echo what's in my heart and what I'm sure is in yours. Can we adequately thank our soldiers and their families for what they give up to serve our country?  Can we truly remember those who died in service with the honor and ceremony they deserve?  I'm not sure. But I can include them in my prayers more and continue to teach my children to love, appreciate, and be grateful for our soldiers and our country.

Here are some poems that touched me.

Lest We Forget by Berton Braley Our dead rest on the breast of France And all around the world Where by war's grim or splendid chance Our banners were unfurled: So whether here or overseas Their bodies chance to lie, We pay full honour unto these Who did not fear to die. Because they dared, because they died We and our nation live, Our liberty, our hope, our pride Were gifts that they could give: And since for all these gifts the price Was life -- they held life cheap And blithely made the sacrifice And laid them down to sleep. O, dead of many wars, who fought With spirit high and pure, The noble structure that you wrought Shall evermore endure! You held your country's cause above All else: we, unafraid, Will keep your country worthy of The price you gladly paid. Freedom Isn't Free by Kelly Strong I watched the flag pass by one day It fluttered in the breeze A young Marine saluted it, and then And then he stood at ease I looked at him in uniform So young, so tall, so proud With hair cut square and eyes alert He'd stand out in any crowd I thought how many men like him Had fallen through the years How many died on foreign soil? How many mothers' tears? How many Pilots' planes shot down? How many died at sea? How many foxholes were soldiers' graves? No, Freedom isn't free I heard the sound of taps one night, When everything was still I listened to the bugler play And felt a sudden chill I wondered just how many times That taps had meant "Amen" When a flag had draped a coffin Of a brother or a friend I thought of all the children, Of the mothers and the wives, Of fathers, sons and husbands With interrupted lives I thought about a graveyard at the bottom of the sea Of unmarked graves in Arlington. No, Freedom isn't free! The Cost of Freedom by Ron Tranmer He died serving our country, in a land far away. He gave his life for freedom. They buried him today. He loved family more than life, and had to do what’s right. To protect them and his country, he joined in the fight. Next time you see a soldier, don’t just pass him by. Thank him for his service. He might be next to die. How great the cost of freedom. How brave those who defend. Protect them Lord, that they may safely come back home again. God bless our soldiers today and every day!  xoxo, Jenny