Here is a gentle reminder my friends,
No matter how you stand on the science,
With the number of humans and our trends,
We have the fate of the Earth in our hands.
We can continue to squander and waste,
Leaving little left for our descendants.
Or we can learn a new path with all haste;
Begin to live our lives within balance.
There is enough for all, if we conserve;
We must stop reproducing like a plague.
The Earth has a cure for such a disease;
Which would be leaving our hearts full of ache.
“Gentle Reminder” by
Jerry E Smith
©11/13/16
Veterans and service members, both men and women, carry
Many deep and enduring wounds that do not show on the
Outside. One woman who was a medic in Iraq put it very
Succinctly: ”each time you have someone, be it civilian
Or soldier, a woman or especially a child, come in with
Limbs blown off or burned badly, a little part of you is
Torn away as well. After days and days of this over
And over, you become broken; sometimes trying to
Harm yourself to end the pain. This, I understand.
I myself was never in direct combat, but MY job,
If we had gone to war while I was on duty, was
To launch a missile, an ICBM with the largest
Nuclear Bomb we had in our arsenal at the
Time. If that had occurred, you could be
Sure that hundreds more such Missiles
Were also being launched; the World
as we knew it had come to an end.
My wounds are so deep, I rarely
Dream about it, but when I do
It is horrid. When I see an
Image of a mushroom
Cloud, I cringe inside;
If I am alone, and I
Almost always am
Alone, I cry. Most
Can’t imagine what this
Is like; carrying around the
Horror of what you MIGHT
Have done to your friends and
Family, in carrying out your orders.
For this, the VA offers you counseling
IF you got an honorable discharge, if not
Nothing. It is like I walk around with an
Open, running sore for which there is
No treatment; no relief. Such Pain.
“Such Pain” by
Jerry E Smith
©11/13/16
Peaceful memories overtake me as
My mind drifts off to sleep.
I’ll dream of former days; my youth not spent.
Gliding silently along the stream, I
Observe nature at play; not caring that
I watched and listened. My love un-pent.
To commune with the world about me, is
Perhaps a dream, one worthy of dreaming
Methinks.
Dream your dreams in peace my friends,
And perhaps we’ll dream together.
“Peaceful Dreaming Memories” by
Jerry E Smith
©11/9/16