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Anniversary of U.S.S. Arizona
After standing on the decks of the memorial for the U.S.S. Arizona,
I wrote this poem to honor our fallen comrades on the
50th Anniversary of that day, December 7, 1991.
It is included in my book, Autumn Leaves.
We came to pay you tribute,
O’er encrusted decks we stood.
And because you are deserving,
We rendered as we could.
Oil seeps up to surface light,
Rainbowed tears of those below,
Doomed forever to silence
Those many long years ago.
“Forget me not,” you whisper.
“Perish the thought,” say I.
“Though you sleep beneath the sea,
Your memory shall not die!”
“Remember Pearl! Remember Pearl!”
Soon became our national cry.
Our country rose in anger
On a vengeance trail to fly.
We shed our tears; we shed our blood.
War took an awesome toll.
Still we fought on to victory
While you topped our “Honor Roll.”
So rest in peace, fellow comrades,
The victory has been won.
We’ll not forget the price you paid
Seven December, Nineteen Forty-One.
Note: Oil still seeps out of the hull of the U.S.S. Arizona, creating rainbows on the water above it.
Jerusalem
This poem comes from Autumn Leaves:
She sits on a battle-scarred hill,
Standing quietly like a lone sentinel,
Waiting through clear, starlit nights
For history to turn yet another page.
Resting against an ancient olive tree,
From Gethsemane, I gaze across the valley.
She looks like a dull jewel
In desperate need of a good polishing.
War, tears, bloodshed and misery
Have been seen often by her.
She wears them like every day apparel.
Peace is not found within her walls.
Yet it’s written that a child was born
In a village known as Bethlehem
That’s just south of where I rest,
Just as the prophecy foretold.
Born in the bloodline of David,
Root and stem of Jesse,
Born to die, yet live again
And live forevermore. Amen!
His house was over there
Across the little valley.
All that’s left of it now
Is the Wailing Wall.
The mind boggles at the battles fought,
At the endless bloodshed,
The lives and dramas played out
And history that touches lives untold.
Here on this dry,
Barren landscape…
Where water and not gold
Molds the lives of the people.
The bride to be
Patiently awaits her groom
To dazzle the whole world
On her wedding day.
U.S.S. ARIZONA
After standing on the decks of the memorial for the U.S.S. Arizona,
I wrote this poem to honor our fallen comrades on the
50th Anniversary of that day, December 7, 1991.
It is included in my book, Autumn Leaves.
We came to pay you tribute,
O’er encrusted decks we stood.
And because you are deserving,
We rendered as we could.
Oil seeps up to surface light,
Rainbowed tears of those below,
Doomed forever to silence
Those many long years ago.
“Forget me not,” you whisper.
“Perish the thought,” say I.
“Though you sleep beneath the sea,
Your memory shall not die!”
“Remember Pearl! Remember Pearl!”
Soon became our national cry.
Our country rose in anger
On a vengeance trail to fly.
We shed our tears; we shed our blood.
War took an awesome toll.
Still we fought on to victory
While you topped our “Honor Roll.”
So rest in peace, fellow comrades,
The victory has been won.
We’ll not forget the price you paid
Seven December, Nineteen Forty-One.
Note: Oil still seeps out of the hull of the U.S.S. Arizona, creating rainbows on the water above it.
Tribulation
This poem comes from Autumn Leaves:
Days of turbulence, tempest tossed,
Ability to think, reason, logic lost.
No peace, wars, unfounded fears,
Hunger abounds, homeless, flowing tears.
Scripture disregarded, rights ignored,
Pervasive living, greed, joy ignored.
Foretold from ancient past, no attention paid,
Foundations crumbling, destructive path all laid.
Continue onward then, soul closed to light,
Ignore the homeless, hungry masses, struggling in life’s fight.
Close eyes and ears in ignorance, ignore the coming shock.
Look not for the Good Shepherd, coming for His flock.