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Contributor: Thurman P. Woodfork || Poem Categories

Remember country as flag
Was it years ago or only yesterday I walked
into eternity and forever became
part of this place where my comrades and I
lie lifeless, unmoving, slain?

It seemed in one savage, red explosion we
were ambushed, surrounded, dead.
The jungle returned to its ancient business,
assimilating us while our bodies still bled.

We all knew that brave motto about no one
ever being left behind;
but, in spite of good intentions, one cannot
retrieve what one cannot find.

So, here we lie, violated, stripped, fodder for
the jungle's insatiable appetite;
slowly returning to the earth as time rolls on,
day rotating endlessly into night.

But, console yourself, for I really am not in
this place where my body fell.
It only took an instant before I was divested
of that confining shell.

I live in the abiding love tenderly shining forth
when my picture is caressed by your eyes;
I'm part of the gentle breath released when
you think of me and sigh.

I am there in the crinkled curve of your lips
when, after a while,
the memories of our happy times together
cause you to pause and smile.

I exist in the sad tears that slowly well
when thoughts of me make you cry;
as long as you remember � as you hold
me in your heart � I cannot die.

Do not forget me, Father; fold me forever
in the warmth of your mind, Mother.
And you, Little Sister, I know you'll always
cherish the memory of your brother.

And you, Beloved, who pledged to honor
and treasure me always as my wife;
you are the ultimate blessing
that defined and enriched my life.

I am forever here with you... Remember...
By Thurman P. Woodfork
Copyright 2007
Listed February 16, 2011
 

About Author... Thurman P. Woodfork (Woody) spent his Air Force career as a radar repairman in places as disparate as Biloxi, Mississippi; Cut Bank, Montana; Tin City, Alaska; Rosas, Spain and Tay Ninh, Vietnam. In Vietnam, he was assigned to Detachment 7 of the 619th Tactical Control Squadron, a Forward Air Command Post located on Trai Trang Sup. Trang Sup was an Army Special Forces camp situated about fifty miles northwest of Saigon in Tay Ninh province, close to the Cambodian border. After Vietnam, Woody remained in the Air Force for nine more years.

Visit Thurman P. Woodfork's site for more information

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