{"id":3191,"date":"2023-05-29T07:41:01","date_gmt":"2023-05-29T11:41:01","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.graymanwrites.com\/blog\/?p=3191"},"modified":"2023-05-29T09:17:30","modified_gmt":"2023-05-29T13:17:30","slug":"another-memorial-day-rhyme","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.grayrinehart.com\/blog\/another-memorial-day-rhyme\/","title":{"rendered":"Another Memorial Day Rhyme"},"content":{"rendered":"

Occasionally, on days like today, I get the urge to express myself — an urge that often manifests in verse of questionable quality (though sometimes also in blog posts of questionable quality<\/a>).<\/p>\n

Here’s today’s offering:<\/p>\n

You are more of a hero than I will ever be
\nYou stood your post and did your most so that others could be free
\nOr ran into the danger when you could’ve run away
\nJust the sort of hero that we need with us today<\/p>\n

Rest in peace, all of you who paid the greatest price
\nRest in peace, and may you feel our gratitude in paradise
\nRest in peace that you yourself never lived to see
\nRest in peace, more hero than I will ever be<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

\"Tomb<\/a>
\n(Image: “Tomb of the Unknowns,” by Tony Fischer, on Flickr under Creative Commons.)<\/em><\/span><\/p>\n

For comparison, here’s one I wrote five years ago and posted, like many of my little semi-poetic musings, on Facebook:<\/p>\n

To the Heroes Looking Down on This Memorial (28 May 2018, Memorial Day)<\/p>\n

Can you feel some of the gratitude I have for you,
\nAnd all you did to secure this life for me?
\nCan you hear me simply saying, “Thank you,”
\nFor all you gave to the cause of liberty?<\/p>\n

Can you see the tears I shed because I miss you
\nAnd wish you had not fallen in the fray?
\nCan I ever truly show how much I owe you,
\nUnless I keep your memory alive today?<\/p>\n

Can one day on the calendar suffice to
\nPlumb the depths of the thankfulness I feel?
\nCan I count the cost of the living debt I carry
\nAnd pay it forward though I’m always in arrears?<\/p>\n

All I do today is salute your mighty sacrifice
\nAnd raise my glass to you, until we meet in paradise.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

It’s not much to offer, I admit, but it’s all I have.<\/p>\n

May your Memorial Day be peaceful, and may we always remember those to whom we owe our freedom.<\/p>\n\"Facebook\"<\/a>\"twitter\"<\/a>\"pinterest\"<\/a>\"linkedin\"<\/a>\"mail\"<\/a>by <\/span>\"feather\"<\/a>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Occasionally, on days like today, I get the urge to express myself — an urge that often manifests in verse of questionable quality (though sometimes also in blog posts of questionable quality). Here’s today’s offering: You are more of a hero than I will ever be You stood your post \u2026 Continue reading → <\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[5,2],"tags":[428,10],"class_list":["post-3191","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-military","category-musings","tag-military-2","tag-patriotism"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.grayrinehart.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3191","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.grayrinehart.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.grayrinehart.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.grayrinehart.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.grayrinehart.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=3191"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.grayrinehart.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3191\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":3192,"href":"https:\/\/www.grayrinehart.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3191\/revisions\/3192"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.grayrinehart.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=3191"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.grayrinehart.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=3191"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.grayrinehart.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=3191"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}