Tuesday, November 10, 2015

Elevens


      Gratitude for service rendered
      is such an inadequate expression
      for all whose labors
      define the "V" in this day.

   To interrupt, if not wreck,
   your life with training
   for defending to the death
   is not a function easily disabled
   at the end of the day.

The moral injury of violence
so easily seeps into the marrow,
rendering life a volatile non sequitur;
exacerbating our lack of political
and cultural courage
in facing this requiem.

Let us dare to cease
our hiding behind the flag,
pledging, instead, adequate resources
for the amelioration
of battle's emotional carnage.

   Let us not merely put
   our money where our mouth is,
   but move it to the place
   where our heart beats.

      Let us risk speaking against war
      precisely because we are
      advocates for our veterans.


© 2015 Todd Jenkins

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