Ann-Marie Spittle

NAMES OF THE GREAT

The pain was intense
But the by product worth it
She held the small soft hand in hers and cried
So small, so much potential
What would his future hold?
But she already knew
For his father had mapped it out

Now again she held the same hand
Large, rough skinned and muscular
Scarred and broken
Yet again she cried
This time for what could have been
Dreams of a Mother and Grandmother
Smashed in a moment

She lay him to rest
In the cold darkness alone
Weeping with the others
Could it not have been another way
His father could have prevented this

The wails reaching heaven in an instant
Another death by the hand of foreigners
Escorted by Michael into God’s welcoming embrace
To stand among the many
Many more will follow

But whose death is more important
The Son of God, or a soldier of God?
God sees no difference
For their hearts speak the same
“I gave my life for mankind
That they might be free from the darkness
That invades their lives”
And in the doing joined the names
Of the great in heaven

Submitted for the December 2007 IWVPA Club Theme Project, “Unto Us Is Born This Day”