Veterans’ Day

“Veterans’ Day”

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Stand up and salute —

a salute to the country,

the flag,

and on this day,

to the veterans

of the U.S. of A.

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Some truth I’ve carried with me —

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The world kept turning,

and so did we —

some a little slower,

and never quite the same.

———

The laughs return,

but never sound from pain.

Names linger in the spaces

between jokes and stories,

moments of loss and gain.

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How we bore the weight

to become strangers

among those we served,

and those sworn to defend.

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War spun tales

to mask reality,

harsh-spoken tongues,

better left for VFWs —

life-long friends and shared remains.

———

Don’t forget the ones we lost,

or the silence that follows their names.

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Each burden carried

in honor and pain,

each life remembered

again and again.

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Integrity.

Courage.

Respect.

Service beyond self —

———

We stood with duty to defend

the people’s rights,

to honor the promise of a life

freely lived.

———

We made sure the job was done.

Who knows why we fight,

God knows why we joined —

but it is a nation’s right

to defend its might.

— CH —