As citizens throughout the USA honor veterans on Veteran's Day, here are two poems in observation of the day


Photo courtesy of Arlington Cemetery archives


headstones are a fitting metaphor for
Annette Marie Hyder

the teeth of war
the deadly bite
the huge swallow

the spreading grin
that looms larger
with every battle

a Cheshire cat's grin
that haunts the mind
after the body of troops

has disappeared


Final deployment
Annette Marie Hyder

The dead lie resting
in friable beds —
in beds of earth.
Their pillows have been plumped with pride —
cased with military piping;
their blankets stitched with grief
a cold comfort flag.



Links:

President Obama honors veterans and the fallen at Arlington Cemetery
Link to article that accompanies final deployment poem
Minnesota Senator, Al Franken, to highlight service dogs on Veterans' Day
Veteran's Day perks for Vets at MINNPOST
Fort Hood homecoming video