"Protector" Photography by Susie Clevenger
To visit her wonderful photography blog click here.
Linking with the Sunday Muse for Muse # 57
Come join us!
"All gave some,
some gave all."
~Billy Ray Cyrus
Linking with the Sunday Muse for Muse # 57
Come join us!
"All gave some,
some gave all."
~Billy Ray Cyrus
We look back past the bullets ricochet
And our hearts see
Fear cloaked in the armor of bravery
You stepped out in harm’s way
Heart pounding louder than a bomb
But my eyes were spared the gruesome details
Sitting in my living room
My brother’s blood did not splatter
Upon my face
My legs still unshaken
still intact
no throat can express it
thunder knows what it knows
and we can only wait for the lightening flash
some memories should be unremembered
but a soldier somewhere
packs for home
carrying all those memories
he brings with shrapnel
yet leaving behind a leg
he tells himself that he is lucky
and hopes someday he will believe it
for his fellow soldier
will be laid to rest
underneath clover grass
near the shade of concrete angels
as I freely sit in my living room.
©Carrie Van Horn 2019
ReplyDeleteHorror....
Indeed 😢
Delete"And our hearts see
ReplyDeleteFear cloaked in the armor of bravery"
I kept going back to these lines... wondering if that is how loved ones survive the mental devastation of knowing that a world away their love is living by the oldest of terrible rules: kill or be killed.
So many things left behind--flesh, tranquility, naiveté--and so many heavy, heart-tearing things to bring home. so many...
Heart-tearing is a good way to put it Magaly. It is beyond my imagination, and it is sad that they have to carry that burden.
DeleteMoving. :(
ReplyDelete"And our hearts see Fear cloaked in the armor of bravery" so sad to think about loved ones who gave their all. the battles won and lost, the loved ones left behind.
ReplyDeleteYes, it is sad all the way around Toni.....:-(
DeleteI think what the mind pushes away, the heart cannot. So sad.
ReplyDeleteI think you are right about that Sara.
DeleteAlways sad for those brave young men who lost limbs or mund or life.
ReplyDeleteI am fortunate not to have ever been called to service . . .
Beautifuuly written, Carrie and very moving . . :)
Thank you Eddie and i am thankful you were not called to war.
Deletemind (not mund, sorry)
ReplyDeleteIt always breaks my heart for those who give so much for our freedom. I can't imagine what it is like to be on a battlefield, to come home wounded, and carry war even when they are not longer in battle. This is a beautifully written poem. It really touched me. Thank you again for using my photo.
ReplyDeleteThank you for your inspiring photography Susie. I really wanted to write something meaningful for Memorial Day. It seems that no thank you nor poem is truly enough, and never is for what so many sacrifice for others. Those that do survive, carry such a great burden for the rest of their lives. It is tragic on so many levels.
DeleteA heart wrenching piece Carrie, eloquently written. It is a great tribute to our service men and something to keep us mindful of those heroes we see in our walk of life. Thank you!
ReplyDeleteThank you so much Regina! It was hard to write on several levels. 😢
ReplyDelete