By Jerome Peterson
Despite what doctors, gurus, and optimists say you should focus on, concerning mental therapy, the past is important. Not only is it important as a lesson tool, but it can be very personal with fulfilling, satisfying qualities. With Memorial Day arriving, it is as personal as it can get. Many of us ship shod it away with lots of booze, cookouts, and B.S. We all know B.S. is what it is and booze and cookouts are great but let us not use them and ignore the significant reason for the holiday. There are well-known NASCAR races, movies, and other sporting events that can create positive distractions from “hard to deal with memories”. That’s OK. Nonetheless, if you have not experienced the tragic loss of war at least have the grit and courtesy by respecting those that have.
In the United States, according to The New Oxford American Dictionary, “Memorial Day is a reflective day on which those who died in active military service are remembered, traditionally observed on May 30 but now officially observed on the last Monday in May. Memorial Day is also called (especially formerly) Decoration Day”.
It’s called Decoration Day because that is when loved ones decorate the grave with flowers in honor of those that have been lost. This poem is for the soldiers that have fallen. SALUATE!
Keep me as a
memory, a cherished longing thought;
I’ll whisper
through the window, about the star we caught;
Plant it in the
garden one twinkle at a time;
Keep it as our
secret like a fairytale rhyme.
Keep me as a
memory, what will it contain;
The laughter and
singing, sadness and the pain?
One outweighs the
other, but that’s for you to decide.
I was great for
discussions, in you I did confide.
Keep me as a
memory, if only in a frame;
A worn and fading
photo signed by my name.
A treasured
knickknack or a painting on the wall;
But please keep
the memory, if nothing at all.
Keep me as a
memory strolling through the green;
Lingering with
vines and flowers, the prettiest you’ve seen;
Lounging by our
pond, I’d crave your flattery;
You’d speak low
and gentle in the utmost sincerity.
Keep me as a
memory when raising a glass;
Dreaming of our
future, reminiscing the past;
Vices we should
have thrown, qualities we’ve kept;
Paths we have
taken, instead of stairs with no steps.
Keep me as a
memory, not in a sullen square.
Geometrically I’m
a circle, around you everywhere.
The suddenness of
departure comes with a grieving cost;
Keep me in your
memory for in your heart I’m lost.