Beneath your sullied crest
an oval stone without dress
stained by corrosive elements
never caressed by care taker's hands
an eroded relic, a timeless share
placed in a blind trust, all hope to smite
I kneeled on bended knee
to share a dark night's vigil
You could not name, rank give
but a lingering soul did share
I shaded your hearth with a vigil
to the ignominy of jading life
and the shadow of unknown death
Cradled your essence as the progeny
who longed your mantle to bear
In the solemn stillness of desolateness
sheltered the dreadful fears of
a spirit whose corpses' identity
could never square the forgotten years
with his gallant comrades now silted
in the graves of vaunted patriot flare
then laid down by your barren flank
a mangled mass of enveloping weeds
the sorrow of unrequited dreams to feel
and with an indebted, winsome stare
culled the stimes of ignorant drifters
sealed the crimes of groveling sifters
In mournful tone, recited a lengthy ode
to an unsung hero trapped in the
shadow of a war that stole his name