World War II. Gunshots
in France ricochet across
the entire planet.

Poppies reach up from
the dead earth in expression
of hope; life can start

A cenotaph is
carved; we must remind ourselves
to never forget

An entirely
new party of colors takes
a solemn stand

An entire world
remembers gunshots from long
ago. Present day.

I was wearing four shirts, two pairs of pants, a sweater, and a pair of woolly gloves. That didn't stop my ears from freezing as I waited patiently for the parade to start. After a meeting in a school gymnasium, we marched to the cenotaph where countless names were carved into stone. I swallowed, thinking of how each name represented somebody... somebody who had died in a war. Though the laying of the wreaths took a long time, I remembered that this was a solemn day: a day to remember, and a day to respect.