they have come
to bury
the war dead
with the same
precision
as
a soldier’s march
step-by-step
grave-by-grave
with each movement
of the minute hand
another
is interred
into mother earth
step-by-step
grave-by-grave
minute-by-minute
tear-by-tear
– Charles W. Martin
© 2013, poem and all illustrations, Charles W. Martin, All rights reserved
Invitation: We’d like you to join us – not only as readers – but as writers by putting links to your own anti-war or pro-peace poems in the comment sections. Next week we’ll gather the links together in one post and put them up as a single page headed “Poets Against War.” Thank you!
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CHARLES W. MARTIN (Reading Between the Minds) — earned his Ph.D. in Speech and Language Pathology with an emphasis in statistics. Throughout Charlie’s career, he maintained a devotion to the arts (literature/poetry, the theater, music and photography). Since his retirement in 2010, he has turned his full attention to poetry and photography. He publishes a poem and a photographic art piece each day at Read Between the Minds, Poetry, Photograph and Random Thoughts of Life. He is noted as a poet of social conscience. Charlie has been blogging since January 31, 2010. He has self-
published a book of poetry entitled The Hawk Chronicles and will soon publish another book called A Bea in Your Bonnet: First Sting, featuring the renown Aunt Bea. In The Hawk Chronicles, Charlie provides a personification of his resident hawk with poems and photos taken over a two-year period. The newly published When Spirits Touch recently became available on Amazon.
The BeZine 
And then the riivers of tears. As always, Charlie, in a few strokes you illustrate the depth and the pain.
Thanks for sharing your work here. Bravo!
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Great work. I love this. I like simple, to the point, that says it all.
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Powerful poem, and the tears still flow!
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I really like how the form of this piece forces us to slow down, almost as if the poem has a cadence of its own, an internal drum-beat. The fact that the bottom shape is a tear was also not lost upon me. Well said.
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I enjoyed this poem, Charles, not least for it’s brevity and the punch that your short lines gives to the piece (something I could learn from). I also think that your reading of it is very good, it does the poem justice.
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Thanks to all for such kind words regarding my poetry.
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One more offering for the week of Poets Against War, Poets For Peace … one that was about a soldier in the Falklands war, who was quite close to home, which you will discover if you read the commentary at the end of the poem (although the latter is not obligatory).
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Should have put the link in the last comment: duh!
http://poetjanstie.wordpress.com/2011/08/15/at-twenty-nine/
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Thanks for both your links, John, and all your support.
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Charles: The profound simplicity of your poems always touches me to the core! With great appreciation.
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Here lies deep waters to dive into! There’s a skeleton that you’ve fleshed out with exact sinews and muscular reality! Outstanding ! Debbie
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This is an intense poem with almost a cadence of death. I can feel the atmosphere, know when each is entered. It is both sad and heavy. It is really goos.
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