Editor’s note: The Mount Vernon Area Arts Council (MVAAC) — together with the City of Mount Vernon — established the position of Poet Laureate in 2018. Among their responsibilities is delivering an original poem at the annual Memorial Day event. Below is the poem by current poet laureate Amelia Kibbie
I.
This dark year, we buried our elders.
We knew we would outlive them, mourn them, but not like this.
This was not their time. Death does come for all
But we can agree it does not come with equity.
We all must walk that lonely road
But many do not cross so easily.
Far from their safe houses
They slipped away surrounded not by kinfolk
But by attending angels, all veils and shields, tender but still strangers.
Their wings were gloves,
And our elders left alone with no bare hands to hold.
So it is with many of our soldiers on this wall
All those across this land who fell
Who were robbed of a good death, their hands empty
Or held by strangers, or a gun.
Heroes sacrifice a chance to cross the veil in peace, bathed in love.
Some of these granite names surely fell in battle,
Others, perhaps in accidents or by diseases of the clime
Their bodies betraying them before they reached the fight
And many have come home from where they served our country
To live their lives and die
Flanked by family and friends, blessed with a good death.
But in the noises of today, flags in the wind
The notes of taps so sweetly blown, your breath all made of honor
And nostalgic reverence
This day where we say freedom isn’t free and we call these ghosts heroic
Let us not forget our lonely ones
Who came home and still died alone
Don’t be afraid to speak the whole truth:
Suicide. Homelessness. Substance abuse. Crisis of the Soul. Trauma.
We all must walk that lonely road
But many do not cross so easily.
II.
Each human on this earth is guaranteed one life,
A precious thing, a fragile bird, a candle flame,
A treasure chest of days and weeks and years, like jewels.
Our honored ones, they gave out portions of their diamonds
Or handed America their entire lustrous prize,
Spilled their blood like rubies
or gave away their days
Meant to be spent with husbands, wives,
Hours meant for watching their children grow.
These are the things sacrificed in service,
And for this gift, we offer them our love.
III.
What, now, is our consolation?
You gave your life for this young nation?
A call answered? A family left?
Your absence leaves them bare, bereft.
How are we to soothe ourselves
When we’ve been told that war is hell,
Burning houses’ ashes fly,
Comrades staring at the sky.
As Creedence says, our unfortunate sons
Will wear the helmets, hold the guns
Enlisting, perhaps, to have a chance
To change their luck and circumstance
Or to make their homeland proud
Because the message is so loud
That heroes help to keep us free
And protect democracy
Like the diamonds of our lives
The truth here has so many sides.
Shine light through them, and you will find
It shattered, split, and undefined.
In this moment, let us bind
And balm these wounds in flesh and mind
With reflection, strength, and souls attuned
to faith, and hope, and gratitude.
This Is an Elegy
Amelia Kibbie
Mount Vernon Poet Laureate
June 10, 2021