FALLEN

Prior to GWB it was the practice of the television news to show the arrival

of the fallen

 

Those who have met their end in service to their country

on foreign soil

 

The arrival of their flag draped coffins from the cargo hole of planes

carried with solmenity by their comrades in arms

through the portal of soldiers at attention

 

Watched by millions

as they stop their lives

to pay their respects

and ponder the lives

of those who have sacrificed

everything for what is

the freedom of the nation

 

For the few minutes the stars and stripes in horizontal

the minds of Americans would travel to the place of conflict

and imagine what transpired

 

For the moment thoughts would linger over all past battles

and all the fallen in defense of the country and the prices paid

for that which we still have

 

And all thank the fallen and mourn their loss and grieve for their

families

It was a time of unity, the nation grieved as one, the pain felt by all

personal painful and real

Every living room a funeral parlor with the smell of flowers and death

The time when all would recognize the the expense of the conflict

the reality of war

 

Now after GWB the news simply reports ten dead, five dead

and the news continues

with no time for thought

at what we do