Rise from shadows

We linger on the side

Of this life that rushes by,

So much forgotten as it keeps moving

With or without us

We must stop and respect

All that has been 

Through days that slip into shadow

Waiting on the full of the moon

To guide with light

As we step out from the side

And become one with it all.

We learn and honor

Stories of those who fought

While life kept on far away

We had never touched the sorrow

We had not felt the scent of the fire rising

As lands crumbled below the skies

We laughed in yards and lived our minutes

Oblivious.

Today we raise flags and remember the basic rule,

With respect and love for the wounded and often forgotten

That there should be every day set aside

To simply say a gentle thank you

For what I have now,

You have suffered

With memories of atrocities and violence,

And I of soft skin who never walked in your large shoes

Never tread the blood soaked soil of foreign lands,

Who remembers today

As we rise from the mist,

Strong sentinels who linger in beauty

Touching our senses

With the impermanence of this world,

As crumbling stones remain like a burial mound,

We say a prayer for healing

We salute the sacrifices

We humbly give thanks.

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