a poem by gary blankenship:






Redbuds for the Fallen

34 redbuds the first in a small grove
memorials for the 3rd Infantry
fallen in Operation Freedom

318 mounds of pink flowers
purple leaves and mementos
now line an expanded Warrior’s Walk
since the first arbor planted

room for 72 more
unless the forest
marches from Fort Stewart
towards the White House

in a Bagdad schoolyard
five craters planted in the sand
as the line of graves
for Iraqi dead marches
around the world
and back again

http://www.cnn.com/2007/US/01/26/grief.grove.ap/index.html


Gary's book, A River Transformed at http://www.lulu.com/content/178110


gary is a fellow poet and contributor here for which i am very grateful.
this poem is not only beautiful,
it shines with a truth that some would rather not see.

i say, look, god, look.