A Memorial Day Poem

This Everlasting Day:
Hymns, Anthems and Tears

By John R. Evanetski
with l'etude lyric, “The Battle Hymn of the Republic

My eyes are red for the tears I shed
listening to hymns and anthems play
on raidowaves for this memoriam day.

“Mine eyes have seen the glory of the coming of the Lord;
He is trampling out the vintage where the grapes of wrath are stored….”

My ears tuned keen to every patriotic note
Listening to lines poets long ago wrote
Stirred by lyrics drawn from Scriptural quote:

...“I have read a fiery Gospel writ in burnished rows of steel;“As ye deal with My contemners, so with you My grace shall deal”; Let the Hero, born of woman, crush the serpent with His heel...,

My memory quick recalls verses first read
honoring the brave of Union and Confederate dead
Now said for all soldiers felled by wartime dread.

“In the beauty of the lilies Christ was born across the sea, With a glory in His bosom that transfigures you and me: As He died to make men holy, let us live to make men free;While God is marching on”

My mouth wide opens echoing fateful words
set forever to mark this everlasting day.
It all just takes my breath away!

“Glory! Glory! Hallelujah! Glory! Glory! Hallelujah!Glory! Glory! Hallelujah! Glory! Glory! Hallelujah! Our God is marching on...”

High on the oxygen

Evans Blogs Again: nice hat, no pants!

What a SAP I am!

SAP is a self-diagnosed condition I call Seasonally Affected Person. I developed this definition to describe the various moods I experience when the seasons change.

Now I realize it makes a perfect excuse for not keeping up my numerous blogs.

Until today, that is

A recent long stretch of wonderfully fresh, clean, Lilac-scented Spring air currently blanketing our area is just intoxicating and renders me lethargic. Motivation to do anything ebbs.

It’s flowing today due to a cold front that moved in last night creating cool, wet conditions, but not dismal enough to leave me subdued or testy. Hot, humid summers tend to depress all my physical and mental faculties. Sunny, cool and moderate Autumn weather invigorates me; long, cold winters evoke a "survival" mode.

Survival is an operative word today, specifically the future of the Buffalo Sabers, my favored NHL team for this years Stanley Cup. Tonight the Sabers begin the monumental task of having to beat the Ottawa Senators and win the remaining four games to win the conference championship and move on to the Stanley Cup

Ottawa has taken it away from Buffalo, which has the best record in the NHL this year, winning the first three games, including a double overtime 4-3 nail-biter on Saturday, and a painfully tactical 1-0 win on Monday. Sweeping play-off series seems to be Ottawa's calling card. The Sens, as Ottawatonians call them, swept past the Pittsburgh Penguins in the first playoff round.

No matter what happens tonight, I’ll be putting away my puck and picking up on my social calendar this weekend.

Music in the Park starts its summer series of live Friday and Saturday music concerts this weekend. A reunion is set for Saturday night of the key members long-dormant and almost defunct Warren Bacchus Society, a private wine-tasting group ex-Ellen and I joined a number of years ago. Sunday is the monthly potluck supper for residents in my apartment complex. My offering this month is Shrimp & Mushroom Risotto.

Speaking of ex-Ellen, she sent me an “FYI” email this week saying that she is planning a visit to Warren this weekend and proposes a visit for us. Not sure how I can work that into my schedule.

Well, that’s my agenda for the near future. I’ll stop here and see if I have the energy to do a weekend blog review for next week. What’s in your wallet?

In other business: a new essay of mine written for the Spring issue of Artistry of Life, an online literary magazine which I write for and help edit, is posted at http://artistryoflife.org An audio edition I recorded of the same essay can be heard at http://aolsoundpage.blogspot.com.

Also, with regards to my creative writing, I'm setting into type soon two new poetry folders for a number of poems I've written on specific themes. I'll post a blog notice when the folders, an innovative new format I developed for displaying poems, are ready for distribution.