Unknown Soldier Poem by Max Burchett

One Memorial Day made me consider
The many tombs to unknown soldiers,
In memoriam to the lost
From wars then and now,
Unnamed ghosts.

Is memory of all without any names,
The memory of none?
Surely the names were known to some,
All missed and mourned by a loved one.
All had mothers with pain and grief unknown.

Those who fought for some cause,
Maybe not theirs,
Still paid the price with their lives,
In near and distant wars,
Extinguished in fire.

I know enough of hate,
Of powers' desire,
To know wars will consume
Without any end
More names for the unknown tomb.