Sunset fades slowly from the sky.
Massive blocks of polished stone
list the nation's slain.
"The Wall" looms stark and grim.
An apologetic monument
to men who died; in vain?
Who were you till you left your home
and how'd you come to fall?
Were you thinking of loved ones,
when a bullet found your heart?
Were the " high ideals"
of ambitious politicians understood?
Did you die in the stinking jungle mud?
Dead men's names, knifed in stone.
Husband, father, brother, son.
Bitter pride chokes family and survivors.
Warped honor paid by the conscience of
America.
From the shadows wafts a plaintive bugle
call.
Tribute to the victims of a tragic war.
A forlorn wail of grief
tugged from lost and lonely souls.
Day is done.
Gone the sun.
Rest in peace.