memorial day 2011

 lhi friends
let's remember all those
who laid down their lives
because they thought
they were paving the way
for freedom for those
who don't live with the privileges we do.
let's remember the ones
they left behind
the wives the sons and daughters
the mothers and fathers
who died too with their loved ones
on all those empty battlefields,
often not knowing why
they were sent to their deaths
or if the purpose was worth
the dradful price they paid.

what would happen
if all over the world
people and nations
put down their bombs and their guns
and their weapons of mass destruction
and just said no we don't want to fight anymore.
enough with the childish war games
we choose to live and let live
we choose peace and love and harmony
and don't want anymore memorial days
of our collective guilt,of our abominable hate
of our petty arguments
and thirst for blood and power?

why can't we have a memorial day
for those who choose life over death
friendship over enmity
peace over all the useless wars
fought for all the wrong reasons
by young men and women
who haven't even had a chance to live
before they met their deaths.
why can't we behave like civilized adults
instead of like petulant children?

be that as it may,
if there's one grain of truth
in the fact that they died
for somebodies freedom
and not for the pipelines
that hold our precious oil
i salute ther naivite and thei bravery
for all those who still fight
and for all those who went before
i wish for a peaceful and meaningful memorial day.