Ghosts
I have decided that I
Believe in ghosts
And particularly in ghosts of soldiers.
Not three miles from here
Soldiers fought twice
And some say
Their ghosts inhabit the ground
Where they fought and died.
And there are ghosts in the family:
A Revolutionary War captain of the Virginia Militia
A member of the Georgia Militia during the Civil War
My grandfather who registered for the draft
For the Great War and did not serve
My uncle who fought in Korea
These inhabit the back rooms of
My mind.
And I
I am the ghost that you can't see
Without service
Without presence
Invisible.
--Dan Verner
(For more poems about ghosts on Manassas Battlefield, see Katherine Mercurio Gotthardt's Poems from the Battlefield, available on Amazon.com at
http://www.amazon.com/Poems-Battlefield-Katherine-Mercurio-Gotthardt/dp/1439254486/ref=sr_1_3?ie=UTF8&qid=1352587633&sr=8-3&keywords=katherine+mercurio+gotthardt
Katherine's finely rendered series of poems is both touching and haunting. )
"If you could read my mind..." Old Gordon shows up everywhere..
ReplyDeleteHow beautiful.
ReplyDeleteThanks for mentioning me, Dan. Yours would have been a great poem for Veteran's Day on the WbtR blog. Can I at least use it on my PFB blog?
ReplyDeleteBTW, never say you are "without service." You do so much for the community, we owe you more than just thanks. There is more than one way to serve. (I should write a poem about that. Hmmmm.)
PS: I believe in ghosts, too. I really want to see one. Once would probably be enough, though.
ReplyDelete