“All the Beautiful, Young Men”
I see the beauty in their brave-lit eyes.
At Omaha, it is their shining hour.
The camera’s caught the gray of early dawn.
Men stand; committed to a greater power.
The ramp now opens; there’s the glint of morn.
No turning back ; this is no time for pause.
Momentum made and like the muscle torn
from out its place , it is for raging cause.
“Oh, captain! I have done my duty now.
I’ve given you my soul and this bold heart.
I’ve nothing more to offer or endow.
As water takes my body, I depart.”
War, then, would strip bravado from their smile;
our young men gone in such a little while.
(copyright, Jacqueline Casey 2013)
