The Call
I step into the darkened room,
Dank, lightless, rank,
The stench assaults my nostrils
I reel in offense, but steel my resolve.
My eyes burn from the air.
The skittering sounds are unnerving.
But my urgency presses me on.
My hand finds the wall,
Wet, slick, slimy.
At last the switch is found.
After, for what seems an eternity,
In this alien atmosphere,
I ready myself for the unknown.
The switch is flipped,
A flickering absence of darkness.
My eyes revolt at the sight.
And I allow myself to wonder aloud,
I’m curious,
When was the last time they cleaned this restroom
I guess there may be some pluses about being the last name on the list, most people start at the top and work their way down and just don't quite make it to me.
The Greatest Generation
The sinew slid over itself
Evident under his translucent parchment skin
“I have something to show you.” He said
As a skeletal hand reached out for mine
I stretched my young hand out,
-and took his
Strong as stone yet light as a whisper
His aged hand clasped my childlike one
“Remember this day, young boy”
He said as we walked the foreign shore
“Many good men passed this way before
So we may walk this beach in freedom.
I left many friends in that damned surf
Even more in the damned sand.”
My eyes wandered to the water and back,
Like a sandpiper running from the waves.
My eyes filled with the images
As my grandfather expands his thoughts.
Men in green with packs on their backs
Like turtles fighting to reach the shore.
Some not reaching the bloodied ground.
Many falling where they stood
Husbands, fathers, sons, brothers, all.
My grandfather’s voice breaks,
And tears form as he goes on.
“Johnny fell as soon as he stepped out
And Stan’s boat didn’t even land.”
He went on saying names
That had no meaning before
But now meant everything.
He stopped, bent down and
Took a handful of the now white sand,
Slowly letting it run through his fingers.
With that I saw a man I will never forget
He stood and he looked older and frailer
But more a hero in my eyes now than ever before.
Hmm, from the silly to the sublime.
My Name is Kevin or Wrag is that you
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