the battle

the storm had ended
the snow had fallen
the leaves now held the weight
and the beauty
as black re-emerged along Lincoln Highway
towards the unknown

the headstones are frozen
their morning shadows outlining last night’s untouched snow
underneath silent white oaks and red-barked cypress
old enough to remember
how the 10000 fell
how the battle for a nation was won
and lost
how the words of a president rose
and fell

four score and seven years ago
a young boy was turning four
the same age as the Great Depression
one decade and two years later
nearly the same height and tone as honest Abe
he would lie about his age
to join the battle as a medic and a cook
Philippines Bahamas Mariana Aleutian Islands
the storm would carry him across the world
and when it finally ended
and his leaves held the weight
his grandson was four
and he took him on the road to see what remained
Salt Lake Phoenix Topeka Oklahoma City

slowly the snow melted
and the black soil emerged from the valley floor
but they never made it all the way across
and they never made it to Gettysburg
not until now