We tiredly traverse an asphalt path,
we talk and stretch. Walk and
look down at one foot after the other.

We feed respect with silence
and stillness
as we wait to honor a hero.

It’s our turn, I walk
feeling indifferent.

His family shares pictures with us.
They rest against his gravestone
I realize this man had a life….
a family.
But how could I feel sad for someone
I never met?

Mr. Montwieler reads a story.
A story that speaks of his heroics and bravery.
He never gave up.
But how could I grieve for someone
I never met?

Then he reads a poem.
And it tells us about things that
don’t realize how important they are.
Things that haven’t realized
what’s in a name.

Then I know how I can grieve
and feel sad for someone I never met.

I look up.

Cold gravestones that seem to never end
reflect sunlight in the same way snow would.

All I see is white among grass.
Marble among green.
While we study his stone I
realize he was
one among many.