Friday, April 15, 2022

We Have No Enemies Among the Dead - poem

 

Lawrence Hall

Mhall46184@aol.com 

https://hellopoetry.com/lawrence-hall/

poeticdrivel.blogspot.com

 

We Have No Enemies Among the Dead

 

For the Young Crew of the Moskva

14 April 2022

 

Eternal Father, strong to save,
Whose arm hath bound the restless wave...
O hear us when we cry to thee
For those in peril on the sea

 

           -The Navy Hymn

 

Proud admirals and presidents rattle their medals

 

The young - in screams among burst steam lines die

Explosions and darkness and seawater and hatches sealed

The bulkheads blown, there is no up, no down

Only pain and horror and throat-torn shrieks

 

Proud admirals and presidents jing-aling their medals

 

Training manuals, pocketknives, and comic books

Naughty pinups, letters from Mom, wrenches, and boots

Toolboxes, ball-point pens, and coffee cups

Fall with the young deep down into the sea

 

Proud admirals and presidents dazzle the room with their medals

 

Mothers and fathers grieve in emptiness

Our Leaders caution them to mind their attitude

 

Proud admirals and presidents – to Hell with their medals

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