This is a poem I wrote many years ago after a visit to Arlington National Cemetery. It’s one I like to post on Memorial Day. Let us all take a moment to remember the fallen.
The tour bus rumbles past
the quiet monuments to the fallen.
Shutters click as the tour guide
speaks the litany of the shrine,
that once was the Lee estate.
Now it is that hallowed ground
where solders come for that long rest.
The Quick rumble past the carved stones
of the Dead, that once placed
boots of war on their feet.
Their soles now silent.
Now day-trippers take aim and fire.
Cameras, not rifles.
Pictures, not prisoners taken.
The bus stops. The microphone is silent.
To the left a horse pulls a caisson carrying a flag-draped box
That contains a name who once walked.
The warrior sent at our command.
The sightseer sees and falls silent
And hears the echo of guns.
Three volleys and then the mournful notes.
Boys became men
And men became names
And names became graves
Gone is the sun,
Day is done.
God is Nigh.
Andrew's View of the Week 
The final stanza is so powerful Andrew, and the poem gains strength as it goes. Intentional or not, your words grabbed on slowly until I was reading with complete attention and a virtual salute. Thank you.
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I spent a lot of time editing that last stanza to get it just right. The first part just wrote itself.
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Beautiful, Andrew.
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Thank you.
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A friend of mine was laid to rest in Arlington, May 4th of this year. I think your poem is absolutely wonderful, Andrew. You’ve caught the tension between decades of sacrifice and honor with the reality of our curiosity, greeting the solemnity as tourists. I hope you do post this every year.
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I’m thinking this will become an yearly thing for me. I wrote it many years ago and put it up here a couple of times. I’ve always thought I could write something better, but so far I haven’t.
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Poignant and heart-tugging…
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Thank you.
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Wonderful!
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Thank you.
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Meaningful and very profound. I especially liked “names that could once walk.” Very poetic and beautifully written.
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Thank you – it’s important to remember that they are more than names carved in stone.
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How very true! These were people with families and loved ones; hopes and dreams.. how unfortunate. How’s the time to truly remember them.
Thank you for this great read!
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A wonderful and heartwrenching poem.
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Thank you.
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I remember my trip there. I love that we revere our warriors.
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Everyone needs to see it.
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Thank you.
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I remembered this from last year and shared it on Twitter this morning. Very poignant.
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I remember this one every Memorial day.
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