SOULS

Heat lightening streaks through the sky
Thunder follows the hollow flight
Rains cleanse the tear soaked ground
An all to familiar sound
 
The wind picks up with whirling gusts
An eerie howling with each thrust
Sadness lurks in the shadows grim
Souls vanish before us as the light grows dim
 
Fierce tremors ripple beneath our flesh
Emotions turbulent as souls await
Hearts and minds go separate ways
Bodies and souls forever displaced
 
When will our nightmares end?
 Set us free of guilt so our hearts can mend
 Release us from the cries, and death
Our senses rage, does our presence offend?

We were at rest 'til our names were inscribed
Our families remembered, went on with their lives
Brothers of war dealt with their strife
Now this Wall of death is their center of life

The time of release has not yet come
This war of silence cannot be won
The victims of peacetime, etched upon the face
Of Black Granite Stone,
 
We are embedded in this place :

Copyright Richard D. Preston