by Dennis Caraher
High school band. Memorial Day.
Country cemetery. Marched all the way.
We stood in formation, took off our caps.
Stood with the nation, we played taps
Year before Kennedy, year before King.
Last year I cared about anything.
But for that moment, we were one.
Honoring soldiers
At Arlington.
Notes drifted across the plains.
Swallows signaled oncoming rain.
Station wagons, pickup trucks
Rescued us then turned to rust
We put on new uniforms
Crisp, creased. Tattered, well-worn
Some forget where we come from
Some come to rest
In Arlington
When he was twelve, took my only son
Lost ourselves in the Smithsonian
Then Abraham, above the Mall.
Then raised our hands, touched the wall.
Headstone horizon, eternal flame
Unknown lie with familiar names
Sacrificed daughters and sons
So I could cry
At Arlington.
Consider Your Local Scottish Rite Center
2 weeks ago
Posts
1 comments:
Hi Matt - below is a sweet tribute to parenthood. Every time I read this it makes me think of Annabelle and how she will one day look back with the same loving admiration about the amazing family that rallies around her. Thought I would share it with you.
Enjoy!
Melissa O'Brien
(formerly melissa3075 on Baby Center, Spina Bifida Kids)
(mommy to my angel Madelyn Faith O'Brien)
In Act 7, Dr. Dyer (who is 1 of 3 brothers) pays tribute to his almost 90 year-old mother and credits her as being his highest source of inspiration. As she looks up at him onstage, he reads to her a letter written by a man named Michael Murphy entitled "What I Meant to Say." Michael wrote this letter to his mother and shared it with her after a Thanksgiving Dinner one year, right before he was getting ready to leave.
I found the letter on the internet and wanted to share with all of you:
“What I Meant to Say”
What I meant to say was... How can I possibly say good-bye to the person who was the first to hold me, the first to feed me, and the first to make me feel loved?
From a distance I watch you move about, doing the mundane tasks that to everyone else seem so routine. But for me, the tasks you lovingly completed year after year built and reinforced the foundation, the structure that made my world a safe and comfortable place to grow.
All that I am and all that I have can be traced back to you. Whatever accomplishments I have made along the way would not have occurred without first believing in myself. And you, you were the person who always believed in me.
Now on my own, I am amazed at the number of times I hear your words flow from my mouth. This ventriloquistic phenomenon was at first most irritating, but now warms me as I’ve come to understand that there is a part of you that will live on in me forever.
When time parts us, I pray that you will reach across from the other side to again touch my face and whisper into my ear.
For your warm and gentle presence in my life... for this, I will always be most thankful.
Yes, Mother, you inspire me!
Post a Comment