an unrehearsed universe

eulogy

A dead soldier is a good man
(always men, even the women)
bravely fighting on the forward front
all fast charges and light brigades
dying while defending country hearth and home
from real and imagined foes.

Sgt. FC age 27
dedicated husband
father of two
loved basketball and fly fishing

Soldiers die (they say) not only
for words like patriotism
folded into the cotton stars and stripes
unions jacks crescents chevrons
that protect their coffins
but also for each other.
Because (though that they don't say)
it takes two sides to play.

CW3 age 24
single mother
devoted granddaughter
quick to smile
life of the party.

Our boys (always boys, the girls too)
laid down their lives to keep us safe
as if overcome with the intense urge
to rest weary heads in shrapnel beds.


A dead soldier is a perfect soldier
never insubordinate opinionated or derelict
one who died, as they all die,
in the name of duty, honor
with no cause for complaints.

A dead soldier sacrifices his life
(always his, even hers)
for the greater good
the middling good
or a lesser good that is just good enough
for prime-time television.


In the end despite what they say
our fallen solider 
is a name and brief snapshot
a faded yellow ribbon
an obituary in a failing newspaper
of a moribund town.

Dead soldiers are wars given recursive purpose
meaning mounted on the back of immobile limbs
making the silent trek home
in a hangar of yet more bodies
because (they say) we can leave
no man (or woman) behind.