A Field Full of Roses
By Nancy L. Meek © 2001
Where have all the flowers gone
To Heaven or Hell, no one knows
But severed from the fighting throng
On lives the beauty of the rose
Each were unique creations
Seeds from the Master’s hand
Planted into wombs in many nations
Each bud destined for Vietnam
Tender leaves, green from the start
Seeking the rays of the sun
Never dreamed they’d be shot like a dart
Into a garden ruled by the gun
Mothers wailed and fathers cursed
With hearts deeply torn in two
As the news came, so well-rehearsed:
It is with deep regret we inform you...
Roses plucked from a garden of evil
On a battlefield so very far away
Still smell sweetly upon upheaval
Reeling in the senses forever and a day
Every bloom was a different hue
A slice from the rainbow’s end
Dipped in a pot of gold, forever true blue
Heroes beyond the bitter end
Eternally grateful we shall be
To the roses which died so long ago
Giving their lives that we may live free
Lest we be victims, oppressed by the foe
Surely, in Heaven they are blooming
With the Creator of Life and Love
Plucked from this hell-on-earth brewing
Borne away in the beak of the dove
For God in His mercy is an awesome God
Defender of all who seek His way
Parting the weeds from the roses in the sod
Gathering His flowers while He may
I would like to share with you a poem inspired by a living hero of the Vietnam War. His name is Gary Jacobson. Through the lens and poet’s pen of this combat infantryman, share in his memories and read his poetry, stemming from this tragic war. You will come away with the taste of the Nam on your tongue and feel the heat of battle burning in your brain. Just click on the flaming banner of his Vietnam Picture Tour, after you have read my poem.
It is my hope and prayer, that after viewing the work of this extremely talented man, you will come away with a desire for peace in the world. The lives of our children and their children depend on everyone realizing the effects war has on those experiencing it up front and personal......during and after the battle.
The cost of war is never final, its effects being witnessed long after the last bullet is fired, after the last bomb is dropped. Many years have passed since the decision was made to bring our soldiers home, but they and their children are still feeling and living with the consequences of someone’s decision to go to war.
The next war could very well affect you ....or your own children; and, indeed, it will affect someone. Do you want that someone to be you ....or them? The desire for peace cannot be achieved, however, without knowing the atrocities of war. If you ever wondered what it was like to experience hell on earth, first-hand, Gary Jacobson's website is the perfect place to start.
I am eternally grateful to all our men and women who suffered in our place.......who gave of their skills, their energies, and even their very lives and futures so that we could live free, that we might find eventual peace in the aftermath of war.
It is so tragically sad that we have not come up with a better way to deal with hatred. With the stroke of a pen, mankind will either fight to the death or dwell in peace..........which will it be?
The Power of the Soldier’s Pen
(for Gary Jacobson)
He did not know where the war would take him
His future lay in shadow somewhere just ahead
He did not know the path he would follow
Would lead him where others feared to tread
He dreamed of home and family
And the world he left behind
A world where life was simple
With cares of a different kind
He did not know each step he took
Would make a difference in the end
That the world would wait, breathless
For the power of his pen
No, he did not know way back then
The new battle he would face
The quest for peace and love
For the entire human race
The world lay at his feet back then
But drenched in human blood
He did not know his poetry and stories
Would lay dormant in the mud
Then God, in His own special way,
Touched his heart and moved his hand
Shining his message upon the page
So the world could understand
He did not know how many souls would learn
Of the atrocities and aftermath of war
But with courage and determination
He fights the good fight forevermore
He does not fully know his gift to man
How God’s seed through him has taken root
How even way back then, he took a step
Causing the world to turn beneath his boot
Nancy L. Meek © 2001
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