Honoring Stone
written by: S.D. Kilmer
@SDKilmer
The honor guards,
Sentinels. Androids
They might as well be!
As they stand and move
With mechanical precision.
Exactly Twenty-one steps
then turn and face the Tomb
for no less, no more than 21 seconds.
As a Twenty-one gun salute.
Where is the honor,
In a veteran’s suicide?
Where are the medical guards?
For veterans’ post-war suffering.
There are no guards
—Well maybe local police
and a twenty-one bullet spray —
And there is no honor,
Where Veterans beg:
In the streets and sidewalks.
On highway on and off ramps.
At every busy intersection.
Where Veterans sleep:
Beneath recycled boxes.
Beneath bridges and overpasses.
Or camouflaged beneath a bush or tree.
At night.
But the government
honor stones,
It guards well monuments.
Human citizens are
Merely useful.
Is there honor in being used?
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