In the Path of the 'Rising Sun'

 

Image: Kevin Dowie 2011

They zeroed in on Eden’s shore

and skirted the periphery

a steady drone at first ignored...

in cloudless skies the war birds soared,

as Sunday wakened, halcyon.

Attacking with impunity

the dragon loose on peaceful quay—

too quickly sleeping fleet destroyed...

with thousands lost in casualties

all-eyes turn toward Rising Sun.

The moments of that fateful day

remain ingrained in history,

as petals drift o’er sunken graves

on oil-slicked sea that still purveys

where countless faced oblivion.

© Ginny Brannan  2015

We remember and honor ALL

those who faced the fire and destruction

on December 7^th, 1941. 

and all servicemen who turned around,

chased the ‘dragon’ down
...and bravely walked into its flames.

Image: Flower petals float amidst the oil sheen and rusting remains of the USS Arizona memorial at Pearl Harbor.

The Words Unspoken…

Words ricochet inside my head

of all the things I should have said:

the “thank-yous” that lie half-composed

caught up inside of life, transposed.

I stare off into space instead

and chase the words inside my head—

What do I say to family,

and strangers who have carried me…

for kindness shared, for love they’ve shown,

reminding I am not alone?

The words remain inside my head—

resisting form, are left unsaid. 

We’ve struggled under life’s demands

 —seems nothing ever goes as planned,

with all the words I might have said

  preserved unspoken in my head.

©  Ginny Brannan 2015