Remember the home we made
In a land across the sea
America

And for what it cost
The lives we lost
Our only hope

Remember later, the war that came
From a foreign mercenary aim
Preying upon the Indian’s pride
Waging war like a game
Treating life as expendable
All the same

And for what it cost
The lives we lost
Our only hope
Was to fall on our face
Cling to the mercy of grace
And cry
Holy, Holy, Holy

Remember the land, prosperous and free
Torn apart and destroyed
By avarice and greed
And the platform of a political band
Freeing one race
Imprisoning another
Tie their hands
Steal their land
Abandon the children and the mother

And for what it cost
The lives we lost
Our only hope
Was to fall on our face
Cling to the mercy of grace
And cry
Holy, Holy, Holy

Remember the Harbor
A Pearl Besieged
By a foreign enemy
And YHWH’s children
Chosen
Delight of God’s eye
Unforgettable, unspeakable loss
At the hand of a wounded soul’s lie

And for what it cost
The lives we lost
Our only hope
Was to fall on our face
Cling to the mercy of grace
And cry
Holy, Holy, Holy

Remember Vietnam
And the raids of pillage
Men, women, children
Innocent
Destroyed in their village
All of them
Young and old
Oh, the horrible grief
Cover my face
“Don’t leave my body
Oh, my soul”

And for what it cost
The lives we lost
Our only hope
Was to fall on our face
Cling to the mercy of grace
And cry
Holy, Holy, Holy

Remember you own
loss, grief and pain
Love, that could not stay
A child, a parent, a brother, a sister,
a friend
Taken away
The striving for some hope of success
Carried away,  like a feather on the breeze
And for all you could not mend
The questions about life
From beginning to end
And beginning again

And for what it cost
And what we’ve lost
Our saving hope
Is to fall on our face
Trust love’s healing grace
And sing
Holy, Holy, Holy
Alleluia, Alleluia

Remember this moment called now
Already becoming the past
With every passing tick and tock
Yet, still recalling in memory
What has been and what is
A  familiar reflection
Like the sound of a church bell
Inviting us to choose
To love, to live, to turn towards life
To resist the tendency to cower
Or to serve a golem with dark power

For as we dance
On this ballroom floor
Our life is in the making
A history for our own taking
Who are we?
Receivers of grace
desiring to honor every soul’s place?
Do we know ourselves as despots one day
and humanity’s face the next?
Oh, please teach us Henry Jekyll
and Edward Hyde

Do we see ourselves endowed with power
Deciders for the frail, their course
or the unborn’s death or birth
In any given hour?

From this precious life, what lessons do we learn?
Will we have the experience but miss the meaning?
Oh, can we see the future is now and one of our own making?
The dance in which
There is only … The dance

Accompanied by the music
forever singing with resound
Holy, Holy, Holy
Alleluia! Alleluia!

And for what it cost
The lives we lost
For the life we have today
Our saving hope
Is to fall on our face
Cling to the mercy of grace
Trust love’s healing grace
And cry
Holy, Holy, Holy

I wrote his poem was written a year ago, and added to it for Memorial Day this year. I hop you enjoy.

Paulette Jackson LPC-MHSP