combat writing badge C O M B A T
the Literary Expression of Battlefield Touchstones ™
ISSN 1542-1546 Volume 03 Number 02 Spring ©Apr 2005


Memorial for a Revolutionary War Veteran


      Have you something for this soldier
      Who died at Yorktown,
      Wearing the badge of courage
      On this stone-dressed ground?

      He drew strength from combat;
      Steadied his steps from Hate
      Under the wheels of battle
      Where Death obsequious waits.

      His absence is left to Heaven
      Past streets of fading song
      Where not even this grave
      Stands firm for long.

      He left a history with triumphs,
      A region frosted with light
      In the racked quarters of war
      And the emergence of night.

      Have you something for this soldier
      To come to terms with him,
      His death for his country,
      Against the bugler's hymn?


by James Wm. Chichetto
... who is a freelance poet, with eight books of verse to his credit, and works appearing in The Native American Poetry Anthology, The First Abbey Wood Anthology, The Boston Globe, The Boston Phoenix, The Colorado Review, Gargoyle, The Manhattan Review, Poem, The Paterson Review. He is related to combat veterans of the Korean War and World War Two; and teaches writing and literature at Stonehill College.