Remembering The Brave Poem by Noreen Carden

Remembering The Brave

Rating: 5.0


Remembered with honour that is your epitaph.
Your gravesite unvisited on foreign soil.
White cross among thousands
your soul long since fled.
For your homeland's old enemy
your young blood was shed.
Do you have knowledge of me and mine?
On your seat in heaven do you recline
and watch us live out our lives in peace.
Unmindful most times of your sacrifice.
I hope death came swiftly
your dear soul to claim.
That you did not have to linger in hunger and pain.
The debt that we owe you can never be paid.
In the absence of flowers our remembrance is laid.

Tuesday, September 10, 2013
Topic(s) of this poem: deaths
POET'S NOTES ABOUT THE POEM
This poem is in memory of my uncle Michael O Hora who died age 29 on the ninth of March nineteen forty four his body lies in Yokohama
cemetery may he rest in peace.He was a husband a son a brother and an uncle i never got the chance to know
COMMENTS OF THE POEM
Patricia Grantham 14 September 2013

You have so plainly depicted all of the ravages that war can inflict upon the human race. The cost of freedom comes at a very large price. We can't regain the lives lost but we can honor them in such a way that would bring peace of mind. I have a poem titled Salute to Soldiers. Take a peek when you get a moment or two. A very inspiring and excellent write.

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Unwritten Soul 14 September 2013

A tribute that touched and provoked my imagination, i loved this, as like you i am so proud of him though i dont know him and never i will...you wrote a very nice poem..loved it :) and wait....i love the intrigue and passion of this poem's title too_Soul

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Lyn Paul 15 September 2013

The debt how true these words, how brave your Uncle and so many others who never complained. Let us never forget the Brave.

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Hazel Durham 20 September 2013

A beautiful tribute to your uncle Michael remembering his bravery with your superb lines!

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Heather Wilkins 10 September 2013

we can never repay the brave for what they have done. a loving write

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Achill Lad 28 September 2014

This is a beautiful poem. A wonderful tribute to your uncle and indeed to all the soldiers who have made the ultimate sacrifice for us to live our lives in peace. My father and his brother fought in the second world war and luckily survived. I remember seeing a monument on Achill forty years ago of a local man who fought in the Spanish Civil War. He fought for a principle. I don't remember his first name but he was a McHugh. If I remember rightly he was the first of the volunteers to die. I will put this poem on my poem list.

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Daniel Brick 16 May 2014

Although I have never visited a foreign cemetery of soldiers' graves, I have seen many photos of the anonymous headstones with tiny USA flags nearby. No wonder as you write the soul has fled long ago. There is nothing to hold a soul in such a perfunctory place which is supposed to be for remembrance and gratitude. Your poem is a heartfelt homage to your uncle and the blood-tie means he will never be forgotten. But I am troubled by the fact that as the decades separate from WWII and more wars occupy our minds, these memorials become increasingly impersonal, whereas they should make the victims' sacrifice very real and personal. As Vergil said of war, There are so many tears for the human condition.

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Bri Edwards 24 March 2014

i think i've avoided this title/poem before now because i don't necessarily believe (all the) soldiers, sailers, etc. who died while in the military were brave. and not all died at enemy hands. at least i tend to feel fighting ww2 the right thing to do for the u.s.; it was a war not so easily questioned by peaceniks, such as myself. in the lines: For your homelands old enemy was your young blood shed.................could use an apostrophe in homelands. also i don't quite follow the meaning.....did your uncle die for the enemy (japan) ? i think i know what you mean, but i would not word it that way. i really like the lines: Do you have knowledge of me and mine. On your seat in heaven do you recline and watch us live out our lives in peace. Unmindful most times of your sacrifice. ...............but how about a question mark after mine. (?) thanks for sharing and for the few rhymes ya tossed my way. well-written expression of memory and gratitude. bri :)

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Charles Darnell 26 November 2013

A thoughtful and touching tribute.

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Khairul Ahsan 25 September 2013

An excellent soliloquy in poetic thoughts, a tribute eloquently expressed.

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