Starry banner

[Ian Adrian Millar]

STARRY BANNER

We brought that starry banner,
From the flagstaff where it flew.
To shroud our fallen shipmates,
As seamen tend to do.

Some were young and some were old,
Who joined our hallowed dead.
All gave some, and some gave all,
Nothing further need be said.

All about us raged the battle,
Not much time to say so long.
And a mother's heart is broken,
To learn her child is gone.

Patriotic men and women,
Who were called to give the most,
Slumber on among the poppies,
Having joined the purple Host.

In time the fighting ended,
And our heroes lay asleep,
Beneath that starry banner,
Committed to the deep.

Ian Adrian Millar

May 30, 2022 is Memorial Day in the USA and this poem is written in memory of the hundreds of men and women who paid that full measure during wartime while serving in the U. S.Merchant Marine.

[Harry Nicholson]

Well drawn and heartfelt. Keep the muse by your side.

[Ian Adrian Millar]

Harry, my thanks to you for your comment as it pleases me to know someone was moved enough by my simple verse to send a comment. Writing for the most part is a source of pleasure for me but at the same time it can be a source of frustration when the parts don't fit.