Poem for Veterans Day
To the editor:
This poem, authored by Cadet Kelly Strong, shows his patriotism, dedication and wisdom beyond his age. His Air Force ROTC training further proves a duty to the defense of America. No doubt, this poem expresses Kelly’s heart and soul.
“Freedom Isn’t Free,” by Kelly Strong:
I watched the flag pass by one day
It fluttered in the breeze
A young Marine saluted it
And then he stood at ease.
I looked at him in uniform
So young, so tall, so proud
With hair cut square and eyes alert
He’d stand out in any crowd.
I thought how many men like him
Had fallen through the years
How many died of foreign soil
How many mother’s tears
How many pilot’s planes shot down
How many died at sea
How many foxholes were soldier’s graves
No, freedom isn’t free.
I heard the sound of “Taps” one night
When everything was still
I listened to the bugler play
And felt a sudden chill.
I wondered just how many times
That “Taps” had meant “Amen”
When a flag had draped a coffin
Of a brother or a friend.
I thought of all the children
Of the mothers and the wives
Of fathers, sons, and husbands
With someone gone from their lives.
I thought about a graveyard
At the bottom of the sea
Of unmarked graves in Arlington
No, freedom isn’t free.
Sincerely,
Jane Ebersole, Nashville
