What They Fought For

What have they fought for?

So that peace would reign

Old men complain

Of taxes and weather

Children skip to school

And April bring a fool

So that nations could vote

Youth their books tote

Freely anywhere

Mothers caress

And we do our best

Today I honor the warrior

Who fought for the field of thought

For ideas brought forth

And grown men’s silliness

And genderless, color-free life

And less ritualized strife

You were the soldier of love

The dove

Not bound by strictures

But a soaring soul

Wise beyond our cosmos

Gentle beyond words

Loving beyond self

Today I honor you

For your life

Was what the fallen ones

Fought for

A poem for Martijn

Memorial Day, May 27, 2013

©2013 Susan Schaefer