Veterans Through History’s Stages

Through all history’s stages

Battle scenes play out

Through glossy, thick pages

Men called to war remain stout.

With swords and shields

Across mountains and plains

Across forests and fields

Gripping horses’ reins.

With cannons and hulls

Under storm and clear

Under pelicans and gulls

Gripping helm and pier.

With fuselages and bombs

Over city and countryside

Over calm and pogroms

Gripping yoke, eyes wide.

Carrying burdens unknown

By the citizens they saved

For years not a single moan

But awareness they craved.

Outside books I came to know

How my grandfather fought.

On me he came to bestow

The further context I sought.

With gun and grenade

Across WWII’s Western Front

Across dessert and glade

Gripped by PTSD’s hunt.

Trauma reigned long after ‘45

Yet you bravely soldiered on.

For excellence you did strive-

I inherit as daughter’s spawn.

You brought sacrifice alive,

Showed there’s always a dawn.

November 11th and yonder

A pledge to you, Grandpa Keith

Veterans I’ll always ponder

Gripped by history’s teeth.