Do not wear a flag
It's not Flag Day
Don't thank me for my service
It's not Veterans Day
Or Armed Forces Day
Memorial Day Is not
A day for celebration
But a day for counting the cost
Of freedom
Dress yourself in mourning
Visit a cemetery
Hold a prayer vigil
Recite the names of the dead
But most of all tell their stories
The lost ones
The damaged ones
The willing
And unwilling
Victims of our inhumanity
Of the greed
The selfishness
Of those that believe
War is the answer
To settle disputes
Or to reap profits
Because the toll is most often
Paid by the young
The poor 
The disenfranchised
The oppressed 
So if you think at all
Of this day
Beyond time off from work
Or the family barbecue
Think of the dead
And weep
For the sacrifice they made
To give you the right
To not think of them
At all

©2022 Kevin Fraleigh