AikiWeb: The Source for Aikido Information AikiWeb's principal purpose is to serve the Internet community as a repository and dissemination point for aikido information.
Hello and thank you for visiting AikiWeb, the
world's most active online Aikido community! This site is home to
over 22,000 aikido practitioners from around the world and covers a
wide range of aikido topics including techniques, philosophy, history,
humor, beginner issues, the marketplace, and more.
If you wish to join in the discussions or use the other advanced
features available, you will need to register first. Registration is
absolutely free and takes only a few minutes to complete so sign up today!
This poem and others are available in my books, Nothing Works: Meditations on Aikido, Buddhism, the Tao, Zen, and other inconsequential things....and, Nothing Special, and Nothing Matters..., available thru Amazon.com, in print and Kindle editions and Barnes & Noble websites.....Also available as an e-book via Smashwords.com. Try this link: www.nothing-works.com for the full array of options.
I walk the path - slowly
There is no hurry for the dead
My fingers softly brushing,
Trailing along the smooth Wall Only the many indentations
Of engraved names
Breaking the smoothness
And, artifacts of sorrow
Left in honor and remembrance
I stop, now and again
Reading names, reading names...
Strangely, I always look
For my own name
My own name engraved
In black stone
Perhaps it is my own guilt
And, my own graying reflection
And, the tears, the tears
Always come, always come The Three Soldiers
(Are they crying, too?)
Seem to follow me as I walk
Back and forth, back and forth
Fingers softly brushing black stone
I hope that you will take some time, this Memorial Day weekend, to remember the original purpose behind this time and give a nod, however briefly, to our men and women in our military services and to all our veterans out there.