Usually read the newspaper fast,
normally skim through bad news,
linger on comics and puzzles.
But this Memorial Day,
I got caught up in flashed photos
and stories beneath the headlines.
———-
Cemetery expanded,
Marines need more burial space.
Veteran’s wrinkled salute,
WWII medals on his lapel.
American flags, in uniform lines,
decorate grave-white tombstones.
———-
Counted among dead this year,
three local high school graduates:
2001, 05, 08,
futures buried in San Diego.
Two-hundred came to commemorate
latest “garden of heroes.”
———-
Column inched down the front-page
reporting “Syria denies killing…”
108 civilians,
including 49 children.
I turned the page and saw a floor
lined white with shrouded bodies.
———-
The Jumble today was easy,
a military-themed play on words.
Blondie served spinach to sailor
Popeye. I revived a potted tomato.
Hope I can keep it alive. The sky looks
blue. Later Jim will fire up our barbecue.
Elaine Anne Westheimer 
Comments on: "Memorial Day 2012" (1)
and life goes on….