Icon without candles
Small
town parade, this is,
with
its homemade floats
and
balloons and flags and
fire
trucks and marching bands
and
smiling politicians except
this
one is led by a silent woman,
red-eyed
and tear-stained,
grasping
a $6.99 K-mart
picture
frame to her chest,
an
icon created by a land mine.
Parade soldiers
They
turn the downturn corner,
not
sure what to expect and
then
surprised smiling
at
cheering thousands riding
a
sea of waving flags.
Choppers
They
weren’t welcomed home
as
heroes, were they, some spat
upon
but most ignored, avoided.
Today
they ride their choppers
in
their current uniforms,
black
jackets, blue jeans,
black
boots, sunglasses,
bandanas
instead of helmets, and
we
cheer, remembering now
what
we forgot then.
The left leg
He
walks an ungainly stride,
lopsided
slightly but barely
noticeable,
a left leg of silver
metal
replacing the one
buried
in desert sand.
But
he walks.
On
Saturday, my oldest son and I attended the parade in downtown St. Louis to welcome
home the troops returning from Iraq. Veterans and families of veterans marched north
from Busch Stadium on Broadway, turned west at the Old Courthouse (scene of the
Dred Scott case) in the shadow of the Gateway Arch, and along Market Street to
Union Station. A month ago, two local men dreamed up the idea of welcoming area
troops home, and the idea of the parade was born. It lasted more than an hour.
Related: Iraqi War Parade: St. Louis Hosts First End-of-War Celebration by Huffington Post.
Related: Iraqi War Parade: St. Louis Hosts First End-of-War Celebration by Huffington Post.
4 comments:
I'm glad you went to witness. And I'm glad you told us.
Yes. Thank you for sharing this parade Glynn.
Like the different perspectives that you shared.
two men
had a dream
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