The Hero I Never Met

You gave yourself so I could be free

You died for loved ones but never met me

Sacrifices made through the ages

Kept me out of dark red cages

Maybe saved me from chambers of gas

You were there, even before I asked

Whether drafted or by choice

Your life allowed me to have a voice

Because you lived and maybe died

Because you fought and maybe cried

I’m free to be me and express myself

All of it was possible with your help

Since I’m without worry about how to survive

I can take my talents and make them alive

Now I see that all I can do

Is take a piece of this gift and give back to you

So I could raise a glass or tip my hat

But I wrote a poem, because you gave me that

Cuz I’m one of the millions whose freedom you died to get

And you are the hero that I never met

This is dedicated to my Uncle Boone who served in Vietnam. Also to all the other servicemen and women who I HAVE met that have chosen to be protectors of our country. May God bless you all. Thank you.

Autumn

A nature-inspired poem written this fall.

Red bleeds on green

Revealing the once unseen

That gold fades to yellow

Falling from the tree

Spring’s effort to grow

Green life before it snows

Seemed wasted later on

When I felt the fall wind blow

If only Time could be wrestled

And convinced not to embezzle

The life in the arms of Nature

So snuggly nestled

Selfish weather always arrives too soon

And has its way, sun or moon,

To steal Summer’s artwork,

The hard-labored-blooms

When I examined the trees myself,

Their leaves destined for frozen hell,

I saw their colors were fantastic

And my attention they held

But the truth could not be hidden

And life could not be given

To restore life to the leaves

So I put on my mittens

After observation, I was betwixt

Knowing this could not be fixed

And death had never been so beautiful

But I shrugged, my feelings mixed

There Still Remains

I wrote this poem a few years ago for a Valentine's poetry contest in my school newspaper. It reflected a very real time in my life where I was struggling with problems of the romantic sort.

Your train stopped by

Late one autumn

How could I know

I’d hit rock bottom

The pieces flew

In every direction

The image of you

Only a broken reflection

Now I sit in this mess

Looking for peace

Searching for rest

I breathe in this smoke

Regretting every day I never spoke

Despite my crashes,

There still remains

Love in this wreck

Love in these ashes

Without you

I’m lost in my head

Wandering in the dark

Walking among the dead

I still hold onto

The things you said

The way I felt

The way I bled

Your words are

Clear as mud

But there still remains

Love in this darkness

Love in this blood

This all has to soak in

Our silence must be broken

What can I do?

I’ll never forget you

I’m fixing these pieces and parts

There still remain open arms

And love in this heart