On a Visit to the Vietnam War Memorial

The wall extends beyond my sight

and casts a shadow dark and cold.

The names stretch to infinity . . .

I hear each whisper as I pass by,

"Will you always remember me?"

I touch the names and feel the pain

of the families who will always grieve

the lives cut short, what might have been.

A parent’s voice from every name

pleads, "Please do not forget my child."

The names are etched in all our hearts,

Their memories light up the sky

as each one cries out to the stars,

"I was here, I played my part.

Do you still remember me?"

                         H. Van Essendelft