Cadence

A reflection on grief within a military funeral ceremony.

"Cadence" by Louis Kennedy

The dead of Arlington
Vibrating to sad, solemn taps
Played to swollen eyes
In rising painful pauses.

How light they were
Acting out their destiny
How torn we are
Seeing them at rest.

Tortured hands wring
Tear soaked kerchiefs
Searching for a grip on
This beginning of the end.

The relentless march of
The military funeral
Aching to be broken into
By the wounded left behind.