Just Another Day

On this day that we set aside to honor those who have given their life for our country, I feel it is also appropriate to give thought and prayer for those who are today defending our freedoms. It is with that in mind that I offer the following to our heroes serving in Iraq.

Tension
Hangs palpably
In the Humvee.

Suspicion
Fills the air
As they stare

With caution
At the eye
Of passersby.

Reaction
As the crowd
Screams out loud.

Compassion
Lights their way;
It is another day

In Fallujah.

A Better Breed of Men

"War is an ugly thing, but not the ugliest of things. The decayed and degraded state of moral and patriotic feeling which thinks that nothing is worth war is much worse. The person who has nothing for which he is willing to fight, nothing which is more important than his own personal safety, is a miserable creature and has no chance of being free unless made and kept so by the exertions of better men than himself."
_____ John Stuart Mill


From every corner of our nation
Have come a special breed
Who placed above themselves
Their country's deepest need.
They fought for all our freedom
In answer to the call;
Many of them came back home
But some came not at all.
It is to these brave soldiers
This day is set aside;
They are a better breed of men
Who for us have died.