“stay low, go fast,
kill first, die last,
one shot, one kill,
no luck, all skill”
(Unofficial Navy Seal Slogan)
I stand at the graveside watching
as each person steps forward
to throw dirt on the coffinI study each face closely
and marvel at all humanity
What is it about funerals
that causes all to attend?And yet in a life well spent
not a visit, not even a scent
I laid down my life, as you see
laid it so they could be freeIt must be a sense of duty
now they come to visit me
Oh- the hypocrisy of humanity!
And now another journey awaits meI soar to meet passing clouds
caught in the upstream of wind
a final glance, and just by chance
I catch your eyes following me
©Vivian Zems
Real Toads- A One-sided Conversation
Author’s note: I’m reading a book about war and sacrifice. It inspired me to write this (as if spoken by a veteran). So I dedicate it to all the warriors who have- and continue to – lay down their lives for our freedom.
Smell The Coffee 
February 22, 2018 at 4:38 pm
Brava …..
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February 22, 2018 at 5:29 pm
Thank you! 🙂
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February 22, 2018 at 5:18 pm
Such an interesting narrative perspective, and one we do not always contemplate. Your message is very much on point.
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February 22, 2018 at 5:27 pm
Thanks, Kerry. A soldier’s life of sacrifice is an amazing thing…a calling, if you like.
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February 22, 2018 at 6:07 pm
This is beautiful-thank you for the tribute to the fallen.
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February 23, 2018 at 7:18 pm
My pleasure. …if it weren’t for the book I was reading. ..I wouldn’t have stopped to contemplate this sacrifice.
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February 22, 2018 at 7:31 pm
Actually, there could be a lot of reasons to not visit a person in life but to attend their funeral. When my Dad was sick before he died (we didn’t think it would be so sudden), only one of my three children called him. I think they were afraid he would pass soon and paradoxically, they didn’t want to face his mortality. My son David called him for two reasons. The first is that my wife was on the phone with my Dad when David was over and she handed the phone to him. Second was that David was in the Marines, the only one of my three children to serve, and he had already faced death so it wasn’t as frightening.
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February 22, 2018 at 8:55 pm
I agree that there are a myriad reasons. I come from a background where ‘professional mourners’ are a thing. Apart from the fact that there really is such a job, I refer to friends and family who adopt this role when one is gone…..just for show. This was at the back of my mind when I wrote this.
I understand your children’s position absolutely. Grandkids tend to take it for granted that grandparent will be around forever anyway. ( sorry for the loooong reply)😊😊
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February 22, 2018 at 8:57 pm
No worries. It’s your blog and I like replies. Actually, the New Testament speaks of professional mourners as well, so it’s a very old profession.
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February 22, 2018 at 8:58 pm
Wow! I had no idea!
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February 23, 2018 at 4:20 am
We have professional mourners here in India to, in the state of Rajasthan. There was an award-winning movie too on the subject: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rudaali
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February 23, 2018 at 6:18 pm
Wow, intersting to know.
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February 22, 2018 at 7:33 pm
Such a beautifully eloquent tribute this is, Vivian!
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February 23, 2018 at 7:17 pm
Thanks Sanaa!
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February 22, 2018 at 8:31 pm
Beautifully written, Vivian. Many untold stories hide behind the unvisited…
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February 22, 2018 at 8:57 pm
Thanks, Sue!
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February 22, 2018 at 8:38 pm
I like those following eyes at the end.
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February 23, 2018 at 7:15 pm
Thanks Frank!
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February 22, 2018 at 9:07 pm
Beautifully written.
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February 23, 2018 at 7:14 pm
Thank you Iain 😊
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February 22, 2018 at 9:27 pm
“What is it about funerals
that causes all to attend?”
May be with the final goodbye we try to open our hands and let go of all the unsaid things with the soul.
This is a beautiful tribute, Vivian !
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February 23, 2018 at 7:07 pm
I’m sure that’s one if the reasons. Thank you 😊
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February 22, 2018 at 9:47 pm
Sad, but true, more times than not. As a military family for many years, those who are not, just don’t understand the sacrifices those in the service make for each and every one of us.
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February 23, 2018 at 7:06 pm
Your sacrifice is truly appreciated – and the more we highlight it, hopefully the more people will realise it.
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February 22, 2018 at 9:58 pm
Great observation in putting your mindset on the opposite of one’s experience and emotions. Beautifully well written poetry. 🙂
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February 23, 2018 at 6:56 pm
Thanks Charlie!😊
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February 22, 2018 at 11:40 pm
Oh my! Your words are meaningful and evocative. Beautiful write.
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February 23, 2018 at 6:55 pm
Thanks Beverly 😊
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February 23, 2018 at 12:25 am
kaykuala
It must be a sense of duty
now they come to visit me
The awareness of not meeting again perhaps prompts the presence of those at funerals!
Hank
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February 23, 2018 at 6:53 pm
…by which time, it’s too late! Why can’t we celebrate each other while we can?
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February 23, 2018 at 6:54 pm
Hank, send me the link to your site. When I click on your name….it goes no-where.
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February 23, 2018 at 1:44 am
Perhaps to give honor one last time. I ponder a lot of these durings wakes and funerals.
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February 23, 2018 at 6:40 pm
Most likely there’ll be a myriad reasons if a survey is taken.
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February 23, 2018 at 3:49 am
I really liked this poem. Made me stop and think… Perhaps we should call our funeral our last family reunion! It is amazing how funerals bring folks back.
dwight
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February 23, 2018 at 6:35 pm
Yes, every one suddenly spares the time. My belief is : give me my flowers while I’m still with you.
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February 23, 2018 at 9:10 pm
Yes, if you don’t care about me while I am living, don’t bother when I am gone!
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February 24, 2018 at 12:21 am
Exactly. “Oh the hypocrisy of humanity!”
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February 23, 2018 at 4:07 am
When my mom died she did not want a funeral. So there was only a few months later, burying her ashes in our family cemetary, laying her to rest. I thank you for this beautiful tribute to those fallen one s. The last two lines brought tears to my eyes. Beautiful.
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February 23, 2018 at 6:24 pm
Thanks first reading this, Toni. Your mum had the right idea. More personal – the way you did it.
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February 23, 2018 at 9:37 am
In a creative writing course we did an assignment on the persona poem, which is what this is. Putting oneself in the shoes of another is difficult. My generation lived without a war, or the one South Africa had was so far removed it didn’t touch our daily lives. It’s only now, reading up about the real history, what really happened, that one realise the hell a soldier goes through.
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February 23, 2018 at 6:12 pm
A true sacrifice. Thanks for reading. 😊
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February 23, 2018 at 2:51 pm
Your ending is so touching!
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February 23, 2018 at 3:47 pm
Thank you 🙂
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February 23, 2018 at 5:18 pm
I liked this piece. I think we all treat mourning differently, I didn’t come home for my mum’s funeral and felt that compared to the role she had played in so many lives the funeral itself was not reflective of her journey. I think people live on in the people who’s lives they have touched. I like the poem it made me stop and think and I read it several times.
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February 23, 2018 at 6:06 pm
Thank you for reading this. I quite agree that the people we’ve lost live on in our lives.
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February 23, 2018 at 6:28 pm
I remember my father saying that we had to stop people who didn’t care for him when he was alive to stay out of the funeral… in the end we decided to make it a quiet family affair.
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February 23, 2018 at 7:22 pm
I say the same to my kids. Why turn up when I’m gone?
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February 23, 2018 at 7:51 pm
Vivian, I accidently deleted your email, before I got to answer. Thanks for much for your comments.
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February 23, 2018 at 9:34 pm
Very powerful, Vivian. Well done.
If you don’t mind my asking, what is the book you’re reading? (I’d say I was a bookie…like a foodie, but bookie has an altogether different meaning, doesn’t it? 🙂 )
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February 24, 2018 at 12:20 am
Actually, it’s a fiction piece by Mark Graeney- Gun Metal Grey. Wish it were more intellectual..not at all…all guns and testosterone with soldiers, CIA, Triads etc. I hoped no-one would ask me… so it would seem like I’ve got my nose buried in WWII essays…LOL!
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February 24, 2018 at 12:23 am
No judging here because I love to read anything and everything and I’ve probably read something like what you’re reading….like Norman Mailer The Naked and the Dead or James Jones’ From Here to Eternity. Billy Lynn’s Long Halftime Walk, which was made into a movie, was an excellent book, but took place stateside. Excellent commentary on being a hero and serving, etc.
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February 24, 2018 at 12:38 am
Cool! A new book list 🙂 I’m a glutton for stories
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February 24, 2018 at 1:27 am
Me too. I called myself a bookie earlier and then realized the connotations.
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February 24, 2018 at 3:55 pm
😂😂
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February 24, 2018 at 4:45 am
I liked this, Vivian. Dying for a cause is valiant and we should honor them even if we had never spoken while those were living.
When I was in the service I went to one military funeral. I figured I might not have a chance to attend another. I haven’t.
But I feel more sorry for the vets who didn’t die but are now living on the streets or other ways that deny a quality of life. They, back then, didn’t ask to be like that. We had no choice, the military draft forced us to go.
For me I didn’t have to shoot anyone, I could never handle my life if I would have had to. Five years of my life was put on hold, gone. At least those who died have escaped further misery.
..
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February 24, 2018 at 3:50 pm
Thank you for this. It’s impossible to appreciate the scope of the sacrifices made by veterans- both living and dead.
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February 24, 2018 at 3:41 pm
Beautiful, that soaring, and the eyes following its trajectory.
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February 24, 2018 at 3:56 pm
Thank you 😊
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February 24, 2018 at 10:14 pm
A gift given to so many by so few.
We should all be so grateful to those who make the ultimate sacrifice. Beautifully written. 💜💜
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February 25, 2018 at 1:35 am
Heartbreaking. Death magnifies life I think. (K)
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February 25, 2018 at 12:20 pm
It sure does. 🙂
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February 27, 2018 at 3:36 am
A person may regret they didn’t appreciate a person during this lifetime … and at funerals maybe its an opportunity to finally recognize it… I like the very last line of this poem a lot = great way to end it.
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February 27, 2018 at 1:36 pm
Thanks, Margaret 🙂
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