A COUNTRY CEMETERY
Last Monday in May.
Looking towards hilltop cemetery,
attention standing flags for dead soldiers.
My friend told me
before Civil War was Decoration Day,
last Monday in May.
Such was the grief of the living
at blood sacrifice,remembrance required;
attention standing flags for dead soldiers.
Earlier, those who lived
laid flowers to remember ancestors,
last Monday in May.
Now, our memorials speak futility;
Flanders, Iraq, Vietnam;
attention standing flags for dead soldiers.
Today our leader poured gasoline over
those whose bones speak of our unity,
shaming every flag raised for dead soldiers on
Last Monday in May.
© Phil Kemp 2025
YAQEEN
How can we tell our children
“you are safe and we shall protect you”
when civilized nations blow children to smithereens?
She was eleven,
joy-bringing daughter.
how can we tell our children?
While a people are condemned to die
we speak piously of infant sanctity
when civilized nations blow children to smithereens
Yaqeen used her voice
to comfort terrified young ones.
How can we tell our children?
Visiting makeshift camps
sharing toys and smiles in horror’s midst
when civilized nations blow children to smithereens.
Our criminals wear suits and ties
watching defense industry’s share price rise.
When civilized nations blow children to smithereens,
how can we tell our children?
© Phil Kemp, 2025
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