Victories Retain the Stench of Death

November 12, 2017

Dear Subscriber:

Each week we examine a theme from a variety of points of view. This week’s theme is war, in honor of Veterans Day, which was celebrated yesterday, November 11.

Today’s poem is a Veterans Day poem about honoring the dead on all sides.

I welcome comments on my poems at https://nicholasgordon.blogspot.com.

Yours,

Nick Gordon

Victories retain the stench of death.

Each is cause for gratitude, not joy.

Those who win are fated to destroy

Every grace whose beauty gives them breath.

Remember those who fell on every side,

And grieve not just for those you call your own.

No torturer or tyrant dies alone;

So may you weep for every fratricide.

Death is no fit dwelling place for pride,

And hatred's not a passion to enjoy,

Yet all who feel have reason to atone.

© by Nicholas Gordon

Hear or watch me recite this poem and listen to the music I chose for it at https://www.poemsforfree.com/vetda2.html. For more Veterans Day poems, go to https://www.poemsforfree.com/veteransdaypoems.html .

This week’s theme: Veterans Day

November 6: Veiled in Glory, One Looks Back and Grieves

November 7: Victories Require Validation

November 8: Veterans Have Served Their Time in Hell

November 9: Voices of the Dead Are Rarely Heard

November 10: Velcro Feelings Disconnect

November 11: Veterans Are Fugitives from Hell

November 12: Victories Retain the Stench of Death