navwin » Archives » Open Poetry #49 » Eulogy For Ryan
Open Poetry #49
Post A Reply Post New Topic Eulogy For Ryan Go to Previous / Newer Topic Back to Topic List Go to Next / Older Topic
ice
Member Elite
since 2003-05-17
Posts 3404
Pennsylvania

0 posted 2015-12-22 07:16 AM


        

Boarding the Dover flight,
His body retrieved,
For all time, a soldier.
A could-have-been teacher,
Comes home mute-tight zippered,
In a black HRP.
.
Transcending away from air,
And scorch of desert heat,
Into cool mountain breezes,
That bless the hills of Liberty.

He arrives, burned,
But unblisterd
By wars eternal flame,
That no one seems able
To control...or put out.

Plug all purple holes
With sealing wax-
Paint his flesh pink,
Place his body
In a wooden box-
Comb it- groom-it make
Him look natural --
Pretend he is asleep.
.
Play martial music-
Smooth the look of fright
From his last grimace--
Knowing he will not wake,
To tell you horrors truth...
.
Carry his once supple body,
Soul released, at the whim
Of high command,commands,
He swore an oath to follow.

Honor it with stern face;
Wash with supple tears
What here is placed,
Now stiff,
Beneath a cold stone..
.
Rain will dance here,
On soft, eternal feet.
Grass will mend the scarred earth,
And hail, erase the etched rock;

As slowly, all graves fade
'til only the parentheses remains
To sign a life has passed,
And only dust persists
Beneath these rock maple trees-
.

note:
I lived near Liberty Pennsylvania (population 868) for a very
long time...so I know this young mans family, and shared their loss, which I think of as a loss for all mankind. I passed by him many times, while he waited for the school bus..When I try to picture his face as a child, his image turns away..all I see is a shadow...that turns away from me like someone I have failed.

        
Ryan S. Ostrom,25, died in Iraq, August 9, 2005

© Copyright 2015 ford hume - All Rights Reserved
Lori Grosser Rhoden
Member Patricius
since 2009-10-10
Posts 10202
Fair to middlin' of nowhere
1 posted 2015-12-22 07:25 AM


Ice,
You have gone beyond the traditional trappings of remembering a fallen Soldier, you have gone into the deep and private places of his humanity so that he can never be just one more gone. Well done. ~L

JerryPat2
Member Laureate
since 2011-02-06
Posts 16975
South Louisiana
2 posted 2015-12-22 09:08 AM


Lori is right, man, this is a poem of devout creativity made even more "real" because you recall this fallen one chased by memories of the schoolboy you used to see waiting for the school bus. I'm honored to have had a chance of reading this.

~ Do what you have to do to feel right,
I'll do my best to be alright. ~

Margherita
Member Seraphic
since 2003-02-08
Posts 22236
Eternity
3 posted 2015-12-22 09:19 AM


Impressive, dear Ford. These tragic deaths become all the more painful  when there is also personal knowledge. Losing a son in his youth brings shadows into the lives of those who remain behind, that can never be erased.

Margherita

ice
Member Elite
since 2003-05-17
Posts 3404
Pennsylvania
4 posted 2015-12-22 09:41 AM


Lori, Jerry, and Margherita...Thank You
for reading and the replies

This is one of the saddest poems I have ever written.

I was going to show it to the close family members, but when one of his cousins read it, she burst into tears..so I didn't

again, thank
you

Cari
Member
Posts 411
Englnand
5 posted 2015-12-22 10:48 AM


Your poem chooses one man among the many and so adds a personal feel to the poem. A politician may mention his name and preen his feathers in his sacrifice for a few seconds then move on.
I get a sense of the futility of war in the text as have most poets written who have actually fought in the carnage of total war. One such was Wilfred Owen who was killed in the final days of WW1. The last few lines of his ‘Anthem for Doomed Youth’ are.

What candles may be held to speed them all?
      Not in the hands of boys, but in their eyes
Shall shine the holy glimmers of goodbyes.
      The pallor of girls' brows shall be their pall;
Their flowers the tenderness of patient minds,
And each slow dusk a drawing-down of blinds.

Though I too have written on the same subject, I won’t post for couple of weeks; your poem demands to read without opposition.

Congratulations
Cari.

ice
Member Elite
since 2003-05-17
Posts 3404
Pennsylvania
6 posted 2015-12-22 11:08 AM


Thank you Cari
I am a huge fan of WW1 poets, and the honesty within their poems.

Love Owens, and Sassoon, Brooke, Graves, and Hardy..and also

Randell Jarrell (WW2)
From my mother’s sleep I fell into the State,
And I hunched in its belly till my wet fur froze.
"Six miles from earth, loosed from its dream of life,
I woke to black flak and the nightmare fighters.
When I died they washed me out of the turret with a hose."

I am far from an advocate of war, but the horrors are on my mind alot.

Looking forward to your poem....



"Poetry is an echo, asking a shadow to dance."
Carl Sandburg

JamesMichael
Member Empyrean
since 1999-11-16
Posts 33336
Kapolei, Hawaii, USA
7 posted 2015-12-22 10:20 PM


Fine writing about the pains of war when it seems all they have left is sadness...james
rainyday
Member
Posts 304
Heartland USA
8 posted 2015-12-22 10:46 PM


This is Outstanding Ice,
needs to be published..more eyes
need to see it, more hearts need
to feel it.

Excellent write Poet!

rainy

Post A Reply Post New Topic ⇧ top of page ⇧ Go to Previous / Newer Topic Back to Topic List Go to Next / Older Topic
All times are ET (US). All dates are in Year-Month-Day format.
navwin » Archives » Open Poetry #49 » Eulogy For Ryan

Passions in Poetry | pipTalk Home Page | Main Poetry Forums | 100 Best Poems

How to Join | Member's Area / Help | Private Library | Search | Contact Us | Login
Discussion | Tech Talk | Archives | Sanctuary