Memorial Day – Monday, May 25
Towns and hamlets rise and pass outside my window seat,
Farms and fields and villages, as in a peaceful sleep.
Looking closer there I view, damaged from the war,
Barns and houses left untouched for 80 years or more.
Relics of the war-torn landscape show the vengeful wrath
Hitler caused while crushing all he saw within his path.
When we arrive at Normandy, I see in green fields fair . . .
Markers for each mother’s son whose journey ended there.
Symbols for our soldiers born from New York to L.A.,
That show each hero’s resting place, forever will it stay,
Telling generations of the final price each paid,
Sanctifying all their lives and where, in peace, they lay.
For some, a family’s line is done. Its only living heir
Has fallen on this sacred beach, his stone, right over there,
Reminds us of his dreams unmet and of the fatal run
That took him far from home to France and face a German gun.
Think not only of his death, it was his chosen role
For us to live our days in freedom. He met that lofty goal.
And for our children yet unborn, we thank who made it be,
They are our valiant soldiers, who prevailed at Normandy.
For every time we look aloft where Stars And Stripes are hung,
There comes the image of a boy, now gone, forever young.
And now, at every hero’s home, his story’s proudly told,
There stands a picture of a son who never will grow old.
Robert A. Lytle, known locally as Bob Lytle, is a Rochester, Michigan poet, author, historian, and former longtime owner of Lytle Pharmacy in downtown Rochester. He was named Rochester’s Poet Laureate in 2021 and is known for writing about Michigan history, family life, and the spirit of small-town community.
