tie my ribbons ‘round

I stayed away for years

but

speechless voices kept me awake

calling in my marker

from that lonely asian game of poker

for a midnight ride

to a moonless battlement

that delt with hidden hands

I made the pilgrimage to ease the sound of pain

black black translucent black

cutting from the ground

cold clean marble

clear as a mirror

decorated with small flags and flowers

cartons of cigarettes mostly marlboro’s

an occasional bottle of jack daniel’s or beer

pictures of sweethearts and family

it’s hard to touch this tomb of names

it touches back

quietly

silently exploding fragments of fire fights

sending shrapnel of shattered comrades

releasing the napalm dreams

sitting in the sun under the shade of defeat

I slip into the wall awhile

fire up engines with waiting wingmen

and gallantly fly into a silver sky

where only gods are allowed

where freedom is more than a word