The hill stands innocent
as it always has –
empty now, or perhaps drowsily
crossed by weekend strollers.
What is left of you there,
your fellow soldiers:
the mud of your steps,
blood melting the snow?
I breathe in here, where I am now,
and wonder if walkers there breathe you in.
I ask if they have come to know you
as you were, as I never will –
young, hunkered down,
slipping past signposts.
Hills hold memories in their bones,
in their muscles of rocks and roots,
in the chimes of their leaves overhead
where they mix them with now-life.
It is for us to breathe and to witness,
to categorize if we can,
to share, to mix with our own.
—————
For my father on Veteran’s Day.
Poems from in between 
6 responses to “The hill faraway”
The words put me there, evoke images that persist, the wars, interludes of calm
LikeLike
Thank you. I am so glad you enjoyed it. Means a lot.
LikeLike
You have such a gift for melding the remote/intimate of nature/human. The “innocent” of the first stanza to the “blood” and the “young”. This is just stunning:
in the chimes of their leaves overhead
where they mix them with now-life.
LikeLike
Every time I invent a new compound word, the credit goes to you! You have taught me so much about how to use language more flexibly.
Thanks for this feedback. Hope you are enjoying your holidays!
LikeLiked by 1 person
Aw, that is sweet and generous of you to say so.
(I don’t know how I didn’t see this comment before.)
Yes, starting to get into the spirit of things. 🙂 Happy Holidays to you!
Btw, my first writing new year’s resolution is to do something book-like with that chapbook ms you helped me with oh-so-long ago last winter! I have been putting it off probably because I can’t decide exactly what it will look like…
LikeLiked by 1 person
That is fantastic! I hand-made some small chapbooks for a yoga retreat I went to last year. It was a lot of fun and it brought some feeling of ‘got this thing done!’ Can’t wait to see what you come up with!
LikeLiked by 1 person