FACELESS NAMES ON GRANITE WALLS

Black granite
Polished smooth as ice
Like November winds
That funnel past the names.
The names of courage,
The names of misfortune,
The faceless names
And past the reminders of living flesh.
The combat boots and boony hats,
The plaques with names
And nameless wreaths by faceless names.

We speak of numbers on the Wall,
The chiseled names of thousands dead.
If only we could see their face instead.

As snow begins to fall
A yellow plastic rose still blooms
Beneath the faceless names
On the chiseled granite wall.

©Copyright October 1998 by Alan L. Winters

Author’s Note: At my second reunion to DC (1st Sig Bde), I read a poem which I had just recently written. It met with great success and was printed in the Michigan VVA. The reunion spanned Veterans Day