John L. Waters - Memorial Day

Bright flags wave
all along the way.
Memories

of caissons
roll by to the beat
of drums.

White horses
mounted and ridden
briskly

trot clip clop.
Their shoed hooves make sharp
reports

all up and
down Main Street where brass
bands play

the same tunes
year after year af-
ter year.

No one plays
the music of peace.
Oh dear.

No coffins
are paraded past us.
How come?

We all see
tens of millions of
coffins

once we op-
en the his'try books.
Just look

and you see
the sun is blood red
today.

Yes, an' kids
beat their plowshares in-
to swords

and utter
shouts to watch more war
movies.

John L. Waters

http://www.poemhunter.com/poem/memorial-day-6/