I muster a halfhearted “You are going to be fine”

Four poems by James W. Bray Jr.

Author

Publish Date

Nov. 2, 2016

Hallowed Ground

I lay in a field of marble flowers
surrounded by my brothers and sisters
tears of the unrecalled
echo around this solemn place
carried on the wind
kissing every soul
and washing away the grime
that has formed on the marble
as days go by
This is Hallowed Ground
bought and paid for
by the lives
of the forever young
I’ll never ask why or why me
but did I do enough
funerals are for the living
so man can feel good about himself
isn’t man tired of feeling good

Thin Blue Line

It’s a thin blue line
between life and death
It’s a thin blue line
that says no one will hurt you
tonight
It’s a thin blue line
that guards the streets
all the while you sleep
It’s a thin blue line
I honor today
men and women willing to lay down their lives
for strangers
It’s a thin blue line
that protects all from danger
an oath taken by some
It’s a thin blue line

I Don’t

I don’t want to write
for it brings me pain
for it brings me tears
for it brings me heartache

I don’t want to write
for it reminds me of
what I have lost
what I don’t have
what I want back

I don’t want to write
but I have to
it brings me pain
it brings me heartache
it reminds me of
what I have lost
for it clears my soul

Beeps

I enter the room
to the sound of beeps
coming from the machines
that surround the person in front of me
the person
that brought me into this world
I pray that the beeps
do not stop
she looks up at me and says
I am going to die
how can I respond
when all my breath has been taken away
I muster a halfhearted
you are going to be fine
but I know she has made her decision
as I leave the room
I tell her I love her
and will see her tomorrow
I know that will not happen
I leave to the sound of the beeps

James W. Bray, Jr., was raised in Long Beach, CA. After high school, he joined the U.S. Marine Corps and served for nine years. After leaving the service he became a police officer and served for 17 years until he medically retired. Since retirement, he has attended Mesa and Miramar colleges, where he is majoring in English (creative writing) and Administration of Justice.