By Douglas J. Lanzo
Copyright 2023

First published in WestWard Quarterly Magazine, Summer Issue (2023)

Dedicated to America’s soldiers — those with us and those fallen — forgers of our freedom

You serve our nation with honor and pride,
answering duty you feel deep inside;
apart from  loved ones, deployed in far lands,
you fight as brothers — united in bands.

In heat of combat, you flinch not with fear,
defending freedom, whose price was bought dear…
you bear battle scars too often inside,
searing and haunting from where they reside.

We ask much — that unsung heroes be forged,
that liberty reign, with evil disgorged —
sacrificing all for the greater good,
democracy standing where you once stood,
battling for fundamental human rights —
divinely enshrined, preserved by your fights…
by your devotion apart for long nights,
from spouses, children, and all your bright lights.

Too seldom we ponder wounds of your wars —
bones broken, blood spilled — scourges from your tours;
when we do, we fall to our knees and pray…
that freedom reign, your light leading the way.