Poetic justice here
To the Journal editor:
Veterans Day will soon be here and I thought I would submit this for inclusion in your paper if it’s OK.
I’m 74 now and just don’t have the abilities and energy any more to help our veterans in a more direct way. I can, however, help to raise awareness of their significance in our lives.
I wrote this some 20 years ago.
Promises, Promises
Their bodies floated near the shore
All victims of the rifle bore
that pointed from the cliffs of Normandy.
And some were lost beneath the sea
far from where they ought to be
No family, friends, no flags are waved
no flower marks the missing grave
of those we lost.
And remnants of their broken bones
lie lost beneath some jungle stone
still resting underneath the vines
that have long since covered battle lines
of battles fought before our time
or fought for reasons we forgot
But, yet we live and they do not
because they fought.
But, in our conscience they’re alive
and to their companions who survived
We cannot give them less than our full heart
to those whose limbs were blown apart
or, who simply can not cope with what they’ve seen.
Who can’t escape their nightmares lived and dreamed
Who can’t escape a world that knows them not
We cannot let them be forgot.
For those who wept
and for those who weep
We have promises to keep…..
We have promises to keep.
Yours truly,
GARY RUHINEN
Marquette