25 May
Memorial Day 2020, From The Past Remembered
The McGlynn: Originally Published In 2007
PFC Sam Williams Huff
And some there be who have no memorial,
Who perished as though they’d never been.
For our tomorrows their today they gave,
And simply asked that in our hearts they lived.
We heed their call and pledge ourselves again,
At dusk and dawn – we will remember them.
The McGlynn
By Mary, My Compatriot
America at Endless War: A Plea to President Barack Obama and All of the Leaders of the World
All the dear young men and women we have lost,
How can we overcome this loss?
All the dear young men and women we have maimed,
And crippled, and destroyed in mind and heart,
All the innocent children we have wounded and killed,
All the mothers and fathers, the families, the collaterally damaged souls,
How can we make sense of this loss?
What is its purpose? Revenge, imperialism, oil, fear, hubris?
No, we cannot make sense of this loss.
It is barbarous. It is obscene. It is dangerous for us and all earth’s people.
We cannot overcome this loss.
We cannot make sense of this loss.
We must rise up! We must tell you and all
We do not want to kill anymore.
We do not want to kill their dear young men and women anymore.
We do not want our dear young men and women to be killed while killing.
You may think it is worth all the pain, death, destruction and loss of humanity.
You are wrong; it is not worth all the pain, death, destruction and loss of humanity.
We must rise up and tell you and all those who create these wars
Enough! We do not want your obscene wars anymore.
And
The O’Leary
HUBRIS [1]
Now, tell me, again, what did our President say
as he ended his review of the war in Afghanistan?
Did our President say, “I am going to finish the job.”?
“I am going to finish the job.” just “I” as in “I, the decider”?
just “I,” not “we,” not “our brave soldiers,” not “our allies,” not “the congress”?
“I am going to finish the job.” Did our President say that?
Tell me, again, what did our President say?
Did he say, “I am going to finish the job.”
“finish” as in “to successfully complete,” “finish” as in “to accomplish”?
“finish,” as in “to win,” not “to re-think,” not “to change direction,” not “to bring to an end”?
“I am going to finish the job.” Did our President say that?
Tell me, again, what did our President say?
Did he say, “I am going to finish the job“?
“the job” as in “a definite piece of work,” “the job” as in a “certain mission”?
“the job” as in “the bombing, the killing, the dying,”?
“the job” as in “that which we began eight years ago”?
“the job” as in his “war of necessity”?
“I am going to finish the job.” Did our President say that?
Tell me again, what did our President, Barack Obama, say
as he ended his review of the mess in Afghanistan?
“I am going to finish the job.”
[1] hubris, as in “arrogance resulting from excessive pride which goes before the fall”
Mary O’Leary McGlinn
