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In Memoriam

Graves of the Unknown Dead, National Cemetery, Chattanooga, TN
William Henry Jackson, ca. 1900

such a noble sacrifice the forest made
in its battle with the saw
it deserves no less than a full plantation of stumps

erasers white with chalk
erected in loving forgetfulness
of the blackboard

a stone tossed into still water
always lands in the center of a target
of spreading years

how well we know them then
these unknown dead

This entry was posted Monday, May 28th, 2007 at 3:41 pm and is filed under Epigrams and Conundrums, Personal/Political, Poems & poem-like things.  Print

2 Responses to “In Memoriam”

1. Peter says:

   May 28, 2007 at 9:15 pm

   A handsome, almost stately poem. This moved me. I don’t think anything has gotten through to me concerning Memorial Day for years before this poem, I’m afraid. Thank you.

   Reply
2. Nancy says:

   May 31, 2007 at 12:36 pm

   It made me shiver a little. It resounds.

   Reply

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This is the weblog of Dave Bonta, a poet, editor, and shutterbug from the eastern edge of western Pennsylvania. For background on the site, see the About page. For more about me, see my Google profile.

   

 

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