George Patton knew death
guts and stomach hanging from a branch
like Dali’s Persistence of Memory
time melting down
with artillery explosions
The poet would shake Heine's bloody hand
in Valhalla somewhere beyond the River Styx
were Custer, his brother the two-time Medal of Honor recipient
and Geronimo could consider if he deserved a third
that day on the bloody knoll
Veterans of war they encamp where orders sent
fate with a 1000 dead at the battle of Brooklyn
to a place that time forgot to the east
like the Suoyi Ford where Hong Xiquan sought ascension
and Quintus Fabius Maximus Rullianus could share grog
with Ashurbanipal, Hannibal, Carlos Hathcock, and Roy Benevidez
Heroes of countless wars on land and sea
that reflect a futility of life ending to soon
so waves may cover other waves
Ernest Evans and the USS Johnston
seven destroyers took on eight Japanese heavy cruisers, four battleships and the Yamato
to save lives, to sacrifice their own
a native American commander defending his land
The poor man’s Christ sacrificing his life
so that others may live
-without the omniscience of God
knowing no better way
Ashes to ashes and dust to dust
the sea takes the dead for its own
until a last day
-many aren’t sure of intelligence
when bullets fly.
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