If These Walls...--A New Poem

I am standing in history,

where mere mortals

dared to dream;

stood their ground,

when that actually meant something

worth dying for;

images are all around me,

voices speaking their truths to me--

daring me,

pleading me,

not to forget,

not to ignore;

I can’t help

but acknowledge

that I am

because

they were,

they did,

they bled,

they died.

And I can’t help,

as I leave this room,

to promise them,

in my mind

and

in my heart,

to the best

of all that is within me,

that I will remember

this time,

their time

is now

my time

to be,

to do,

to live,

and,

if need be,

die

for something

worth dying for.

© 2014 Joseph Powell