An Afternoon With Friends
Sitting
on a concrete bench in the quad of my University
A
cute coed I know walks up to me and asks what I am
doing
I
respond with "spending some time with my friends",
She
looked confused, as I was seemingly alone but then picked up
on the
nod of my head towards the grassy green field in the quad,
Emplaced
on the field are Thirty Eight-Hundred and Fifty-Eight (3858)
Handmade
wooden Popsicle-stick crucifixes stuck in the ground
On
the periphery of the mass of sticks are signs designating Veteran's Day
And
the listing of the names, ranks and death dates of all the US Soldiers
Whom
have perished to this day in Operation Iraqi Freedom –
I
looked at all the signs, until I found those Seven
names I knew.
Hundreds
of students walk past the display without giving it a second look
They
talk to each other about school, parents, boyfriends and leaky apartments,
To
them these are nameless and faceless sticks
For
me these crosses have faces and names and most of all stories
I
let my mind slip and slide back into the past and into imagination
I
see images….hear sounds…the gunfire and heat and fear,
I
stare out for a bit, smoking my cigarette and being grateful
Grateful
for their sacrifices, it is because of them that I am here
It
is because of them that these students can talk on their cell phones
And
accidentally step on these small wooden people
Without
concern nor compassion nor comprehension
They
are the real nameless and faceless as they have yet to live
For
to know Death is the only way to really know Life
Two-cigarettes
later, through the rainy clouds something peaks out
The
very aware sun shines down upon me and my friends – and nothing else,
Much
how the sight of the sun used to break the sound of the mortars
Just
to beget the arrival of the gunfire and bombs…
Before
I left, I caught one more good look and said goodbye to my friends
They
thanked me for stopping by, even just for a moment to share a story or two
And
I thanked them for giving me everything that I have today.
And
in a coupled blinks of an eye, I looked at those walking past and then back
And
apologized for those who cared little to none-
My
friends smiled and said it was okay as they gave everything they had
So that those smiles could be Big and Bright and Free.
-Brandon Krapf
CPL
(
Click on any photo for a
closer look.
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