On The Beaches Of Normandy

On The Beaches Of Normandy

On the beaches of Normandy

                            the flower

Of American youth

And of other countries,

                           allies

In a Great Crusade

                     wilted

              before

The withering fire

Of the enemy

Of the day;

                  but rose

             to fight

      another day

      with honor

           and

        integrity,

             born

Out of that adversity

And that necessity.

And now the dream is tarnished

By the passage, not

Of landing craft through

Shallow waters, reddened

                     by the blood

Of brave young men, thrown

Into the deep end

Of their life’s experience, but 

By the steady advance of time,

                      throwing us

          helter skelter

            onto other shores

Than we have ever

Landed on before.  To see

            how we handle

           this occasion

In our unremitting pursuit

           of the Truth

           of the matter

           of Life

           and life

        everlasting
       and confuse
    means with ends.

And now I see

The larger picture.

As through a glass, stained

By such passages

As the one that brought honor

To that past generation.

May we rise

            similarly

To our occasion

And opportunity

For greatness

And allegiance

To an honorable cause.

And thus extricate ourselves
From the Illusion.