I screamed his name but he wouldn’t move. He just stood there staring at me with a confused look on his face. Why didn’t he follow my brother, the risk taker, the careless one, the one who had jumped across the tracks in front of the train? Why didn’t he stay behind with me, the responsible one… the one who never took chances and always did the right thing? Either way he would still be alive. But his indecision sealed his fate. All I could do was stand there and watch his lifeless body flash in and out of the shadows of the moving train as it flew past. I stood there in silence until the tracks were clear and it was safe for me to cross. As I approached his lifeless and mangled body I couldn’t help but to think…“What a stupid ass dog.”
Tag: death
The Cemetery
Here, they sleep
Freedom from the troubles of living
Close to those that left before them
Welcoming those that have followed
In peace
In this restful place
Surrounded by the wooded hills of youth
Serenity is everlasting
Broken only by the chattering of squirrels
The summer song of birds
They have no need for dreams
In their silent world
Trees and grasses dance in unison
Upon a soft summer breeze
I can feel their happiness
There is no sorrow
Here they slumber
Perhaps one day soon…
So shall I
Old Grey Men
In uniforms that long ago fit
The grey bearded men watch longingly
As marching ranks with emotions lit
Take the call to arms so anxiously
What is in their minds this solemn day
As their grandchildren march off to war
Do they fear for them or do they pray
That they would be called upon once more
To take up arms and defend their home
Upon some distant and lonely shore
To embrace old friends and sign the tome
To stand proud in battle like before
If cannon’s roar deals a final blow
Pushing eternal rest their way
Would be an end they’d like to know
To be buried where fallen comrades lay
With misty eyes and canes held high
A final salute from old grey men
Who know their fate is to wait to die
And not know the taste of war again
Jerry Brotherton 