Memorial Day

There's something in a poem that can bring
A memory to life. That's why today
The statuses of many simply sing.
The songs bring back the many dead that they
Were written for, or of, and make us feel
The pain of loss, the pride of what they saved;
Conjure it all up again as real,
Requiring us, as though they were engraved
In our own souls (as some of them still are)
To mourn their deaths, and thank those who have paid
That last full measure which exceeds by far
All other proofs - whether from British raid,
Or minie ball, machine gun, AK, tank:
These are our dead, and they are ours to thank.