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Contests : Tom Howard/John H. Reid Poetry Contest : Past Winners : 2004 : Third Prize
de profundis
does of any of it matter
the hours days years
the faces without names
the voices without sound
a sudden memory stirs the soul
as the darkness of a long forgotten time
is penetrated and one face one name
one treasured voice returns
in an incredibly sparkling moment
to touch the heart with remembrance
to break the heart with remembrance
then as swiftly departs again perhaps forever
Is this then the significance of war
bringing together strangers who become friends
who become brothers protectors guardians
locked in mortal combat with enemies terrorists
and wanton killers without conscience
all caught up in the obscene tragedy of combat
taking the lives of many giving their own lives
for a cause that may or may not be just
and is it worth the price they pay
who then will see again the faces of the young
or hear their voices or call their names
for when this conflict is over
will anyone remember really remember
the sacrifices they made to the deities of war
and will anyone care really care
that these faceless ones these voiceless ones
these nameless ones these heroes of our time
having touched our lives for a precious moment
will be gone from us forever perhaps forever
This poem won third prize in the 2004 Tom
Howard/John H. Reid Poetry Contest sponsored by Tom Howard Books. Winning Writers assists this contest. Copyright is reserved to the author.
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