Two War Poems

For the soldiers who served in wars past

Photo of a white cross by Mark Tulin

He was in the war
when shells exploded around him,
chaos on the run
till the break of day
to sundown

No resting for the weary,
only a twenty-second
cigarette break,
and then a stressful foray
with rifle and hand-grenade
around the rubbled, torn up
countryside

Broken bones and bodies
of friends and enemies,
corpses laying on the grass,
holes and gashes in torsos
and shrapnel in a bloodied mess

For the women and men
who served in past wars,
they lived day to day
with fingers crossed.

Photo by the author, Mark Tulin

Come here wounded soldier
Let me dress your wounds
Let me remove the arrows
from your heart
The shrapnel from your eyes
Let me give you a small comfort
A reprieve from all that is wrong
with the world
Let me give you a blessing
right by the train tracks,
at your gravesite
The cross white and bold
The grass overgrown
A bouquet on Memorial Day
that signifies all your battles
lost and won.

© 2021 Mark Tulin

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These poems are included in my collection called Junkyard Souls:

Junkyard Souls