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I muster a halfhearted “You are going to be fine”
Four poems by James W. Bray Jr.
Hallowed Ground
- I lay in a field of marble flowers
- surrounded by my brothers and sisters
- tears of the unrecalled
- echo around this solemn place
- carried on the wind
- kissing every soul
- and washing away the grime
- that has formed on the marble
- as days go by
- This is Hallowed Ground
- bought and paid for
- by the lives
- of the forever young
- I’ll never ask why or why me
- but did I do enough
- funerals are for the living
- so man can feel good about himself
- isn’t man tired of feeling good
Thin Blue Line
- It’s a thin blue line
- between life and death
- It’s a thin blue line
- that says no one will hurt you
- tonight
- It’s a thin blue line
- that guards the streets
- all the while you sleep
- It’s a thin blue line
- I honor today
- men and women willing to lay down their lives
- for strangers
- It’s a thin blue line
- that protects all from danger
- an oath taken by some
- It’s a thin blue line
I Don’t
- I don’t want to write
- for it brings me pain
- for it brings me tears
- for it brings me heartache
- I don’t want to write
- for it reminds me of
- what I have lost
- what I don’t have
- what I want back
- I don’t want to write
- but I have to
- it brings me pain
- it brings me heartache
- it reminds me of
- what I have lost
- for it clears my soul
Beeps
- I enter the room
- to the sound of beeps
- coming from the machines
- that surround the person in front of me
- the person
- that brought me into this world
- I pray that the beeps
- do not stop
- she looks up at me and says
- I am going to die
- how can I respond
- when all my breath has been taken away
- I muster a halfhearted
- you are going to be fine
- but I know she has made her decision
- as I leave the room
- I tell her I love her
- and will see her tomorrow
- I know that will not happen
- I leave to the sound of the beeps
James W. Bray, Jr., was raised in Long Beach, CA. After high school, he joined the U.S. Marine Corps and served for nine years. After leaving the service he became a police officer and served for 17 years until he medically retired. Since retirement, he has attended Mesa and Miramar colleges, where he is majoring in English (creative writing) and Administration of Justice.
Here's something you might be interested in.
I muster a halfhearted “You are going to be fine”
Four poems by James W. Bray Jr.
I muster a halfhearted “You are going to be fine”
Four poems by James W. Bray Jr.
Hallowed Ground
- I lay in a field of marble flowers
- surrounded by my brothers and sisters
- tears of the unrecalled
- echo around this solemn place
- carried on the wind
- kissing every soul
- and washing away the grime
- that has formed on the marble
- as days go by
- This is Hallowed Ground
- bought and paid for
- by the lives
- of the forever young
- I’ll never ask why or why me
- but did I do enough
- funerals are for the living
- so man can feel good about himself
- isn’t man tired of feeling good
Thin Blue Line
- It’s a thin blue line
- between life and death
- It’s a thin blue line
- that says no one will hurt you
- tonight
- It’s a thin blue line
- that guards the streets
- all the while you sleep
- It’s a thin blue line
- I honor today
- men and women willing to lay down their lives
- for strangers
- It’s a thin blue line
- that protects all from danger
- an oath taken by some
- It’s a thin blue line
I Don’t
- I don’t want to write
- for it brings me pain
- for it brings me tears
- for it brings me heartache
- I don’t want to write
- for it reminds me of
- what I have lost
- what I don’t have
- what I want back
- I don’t want to write
- but I have to
- it brings me pain
- it brings me heartache
- it reminds me of
- what I have lost
- for it clears my soul
Beeps
- I enter the room
- to the sound of beeps
- coming from the machines
- that surround the person in front of me
- the person
- that brought me into this world
- I pray that the beeps
- do not stop
- she looks up at me and says
- I am going to die
- how can I respond
- when all my breath has been taken away
- I muster a halfhearted
- you are going to be fine
- but I know she has made her decision
- as I leave the room
- I tell her I love her
- and will see her tomorrow
- I know that will not happen
- I leave to the sound of the beeps
James W. Bray, Jr., was raised in Long Beach, CA. After high school, he joined the U.S. Marine Corps and served for nine years. After leaving the service he became a police officer and served for 17 years until he medically retired. Since retirement, he has attended Mesa and Miramar colleges, where he is majoring in English (creative writing) and Administration of Justice.
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