Grim Reminder to White Zombie
Down one street flows a grim reminder
Down another street walks the grim reminders
Grim Reminder (villanelle)
I turn away pretending it�s not there
It is the grim reminder of defeat
-
Although I hide I hear my son repeat
The fear which is broadcasted everywhere
You see the river flowing down the street
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In silence do I let him future meet
As life to serve our country he does swear
It is the grim reminder of defeat
-
With every letter to refuge retreat
His words an echo of the daily fare
You see the river flowing down the street
-
Another night of bombings I must greet
As even dreams retell the whole affair
It is the grim reminder of defeat
-
With failure to do anything complete
As blood of my dear son I�m forced to bear
You see the river flowing down the street
It is the grim reminder of defeat
A father must bear the result of his failure to do anything are the waves of this villanelle. Villanelles look complicated but they're really not. If you are interested in trying your hand at on go here: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Villanelle. In this villanelle the final lines act as echoes. Something is wrong but the answer does come until the end.
I am against war, as I know we all are. This poem is not about me. I was very involved with youth groups. One of my fathers was very vocal about President George W. Bush. He didn't like him. At every big event we got the privilege (not) of listening to this father's complaints about the president. When the boy turned 18 he joined the army. We found this out because the father continued to attend events when his son left for training. Evidently the father was unaware of his son's intentions. When President Bush went off with Iraq having weapons of mass destruction, that was all this father talked about. He thought there was something else going on. When war broke out, the son was sent to fight in Iraq. He came back badly wounded (he was wheelchair bound). The father was even more wounded. In his mind: All that he did was complain. He didn't even know of his son's intentions to join the military.Every time he looks at his son he is reminded of all the things he didn't do. This villanelle is about the defeat of a father and of a nation.
As a Mason, I am discourage from personally talking about politics except if it involve the public schools. (Politic tends to make people fight.) I can encourage others to get involved. With that said; A great deal of my success with my fund raising activities was due to my personal appearances. When it came to the public schools, I had to add phone calls, letters and attending board of education and city supervisors meetings. As citizens, we should all vote at all elections. It is my opinion: if person doesn't vote, they shouldn't complain about the outcome of an election. The political process doesn't end at voting. Sometimes we have to contact our leaders. "But I am just one voice. What difference will that make?' A lot of people think that. Enough people that one phone call or letter represents many. Get some other people involved and 10 become 100's, 100's become 1,000's. There might be others, who share our beliefs. Organize. There may be marches or protests. Even if we cannot attend or participate, we should show our support. In our political system, there is so much more we can do. Keep this in mind: We can fight or we can improve. Together, we can do so much more. I saw what a group of people did for the public schools. I know what we can accomplish, if we try. Exorcise our rights. Be an active part of a positive change. See the difference we can make and Enjoy.
A song for our heroes: Johnny Horton "When Johnny Comes Marching Home"
If we thought zombies were bad
The idea of a walking, shuffling undead being first came into western civilization's horrified consciousness with the publication of a jarring 1929 novel by William Seabrook called "The Magic Island". As if these monsters weren't horrible enough, Keegan-Michael Key and Jordan Peele have discovered another layer of disgust about these abominations.
What can be worse than a zombie? "Key & Peele - White Zombies"
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What a cruel thing war is... to fill our hearts
with hatred instead of love for our neighbors.
Robert E. Lee
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