Two Lives
When soldiers die,
They give two lives.
The one they had,
And the one denied.
The spouse not met,
The child unknown,
The life unsaved,
The welcome home.
The hill unclimbed,
The beach unseen,
The books unread,
The field un-gleaned.
The chance to see
Their daughter bride,
To guide their son
On his first ride.
Friends not made,
The Christmas tree,
The job not done
Life’s victories.
The end of war
That took their life.
How homeland healed
From bloody strife.
So many parts
Of their one chance
Denied to them
By battle’s lance.
When soldiers march
To defend their Rome –
Pray nightly prayers
That they’ll come home.
Oh Say, Can You See… Abortion?
by Anonymous
Oh say, can you see
In the home of the brave
That the vulture of death
Has replaced the bald eagle?
And this hideous bird
Singing songs of the grave
With the foulest of breath
Is considered now regal?
But we don’t give up hope
For a change soon will come
When life will be sacred
For all, not just some,
And the star-spangled banner
That hangs now in shame
Will be cleansed of this sin
And restored to its fame.
An Appeal for Proof through the Night
In the immense black night
the fireworks burn the skies
with multicolored light—
today is the fourth of July,
the day of the declaration
of our nation’s independence.
The bombs affirm our nation—
in all the separate senses
of the word—but tonight…drowned,
they are, by the rain falling,
the colorful rockets’ sound
inundated by the calling
in the heavens: our thunder blasts
my hair back tonight—tonight
our pale lightning casts
across those dark skies
and washes out the little
light show, as a cloud’s
shadow that has settled
over the sun will drown
the shadow of a man
in shade. So can a country
drown itself within
itself. So can the sundry
warcries of the pundits drown
the cries of citizens
with warcries echoed now
by the same citizens.
But not tonight—no,
tonight, the natural thunder
of the people rumbles, low
but pervasive: let it crawl under
the skin and nails of the pundits.
Let thundering reason smother
the bombs tonight! Thunder
with me tonight, my brothers!
Citizens: repeat and hear
your thunder, your voice
above the booming in your ears:
whatever it is, make noise
my brothers! my sisters! Stand
and cease to listen!: we are
not ape, not parrot, but Man
and Woman: not echoing moons, but stars.
July 4th Celebration 2018
Written June 30, 2018
May your steaks taste great to you,
And your potato salad too.
May your flag wave bold and free.
Celebrate our liberty.
May you see a great parade,
From somewhere that’s in the shade.
May all the fireworks be outside.
May your dog find a place to hide!
When your day is said and done,
May you not get too much sun.
May we be safe is what I pray
On this Independence Day.
Bravo, Michael Malbach
Thank you Beverly! Michael
Very enjoyable medley for the Fourth. I especially appreciated Anonymous’s solemn social commentary, with its nod to Francis Scott Key’s “Star-Spangled Banner.” On a day when we celebrate our own independence, we do well to remember those who are refused any one of our inalienable Rights to ” . . . Life, Liberty, and the pursuit of Happiness.” Thank you for that, Anonymous.
Two Lives, by Michael Maibach – Great Work for the 4th of July! Good reminder all of the time! God Bless America!
Mr. Maibach, thank you for your excellent poem on Independence Day. The first stanza is beautiful, and could really stand alone as an entire poem. I hope you’ve all had a great day celebrating our country. Our troops sacrifice so much for us. Praying for their safe return is the least we can do. God bless America and those who have given their lives for us – lives lost, and lives denied.
“Two Lives” is terse, punchy and effective.
Mr. Maibach,
I enjoyed reading your poem. As a Soldier myself, I think it tells a story very well.
Hope you have a great weekend!