Sharon M. French

WALL OF TEARS

Names of fallen heroes
send chills,
when I see this blacken wall
with an endless list of names
sketched on shiny metal.
Little notes and flowers
of loved ones lay
on the ground below
the column names.

My heart feels heavy with
knowledge of sadness, the flood
of tears that must have poured forth
from grieving families, friends,
and Veterans.

Glittering wall of darkness,
grim reminder to all,
the toll of freedom
has always been high,
from the battle of
brother against brother
in the Civil war
to the very present.

Though some died for the sake
of peace in another land,
to Americans they should
all be heroes in that
they lost their lives
for the cause of Freedom.