Awakening

On this memorial day we honour and pay our respect to the brave
men and women who fought and died so we today could live free.
They loved and were loved, and had made the ultimate sacrifice.

As they passed the torch from their failing hands into ours, they had shouted:
"Protect those from those who would do evil!
And if you break faith with us, we shall awake!"

Dead but not forgotten, "the why" for their sacrifice, 
being equally remembered:

"Evil" exists and to this day still tragically occurs throughout the world.
With the face of it tragically taking on many forms.

"Good must prevail over evil, love over hate and cruelty."
Each generation is faced with seeing to this task and responsibility.
These brave young men and women in their time had.
Imagine what the world would be like today, if they had not.
Learning this for me was my awakening.

And we say to our fallen brothers and sisters,
"No need to awake, you sleep the good sleep,
for we stand on guard and will do our part.
On our watch the dark-hearted will not prevail."

Who will, "HooYah," and stand with me?

(HUA, an army response: Heard, Understood, and Acknowledged!)

Timothy E. Stevenson Nov. 11, 2000

Honouring the poet John McCrae, May 1915 - In Flanders Field.

Plus too, to Burnie my Rugby highschool coach. He was a retired sergeant in the military. Burnie taught me the value of taking twenty minutes out of each day to exercise. When he asked me to do that, I said, "Yeah, Burnie I can do that." So if you see a fellow sitting in a wheelchair on the seawall flapping his arms, you will know why.
Every November for the past thirteen years I've worked and made changes to this poem.