By Ishmael von Heidrick-Barnes
MOTHERS OF SOLDIERS
A mother
is polishing a pair of boots with tears
Packing a duffle bag
with the camouflaged clothing of war
A ritual
as old as history
lost in the fog of parades
A mother
not unlike a woman
from any other nation
is preparing the child
she carried in arms
for the army
She didn’t receive
official papers from state
wasn’t offered the dignity of orders
Yet
it is mothers like her
who are called to wash
bloody hands from uniforms
silently bear the sorrow of blind sacrifices
Mothers of soldiers
outflank violent oaths
passed from fathers to sons
restore honor
without decorations
love regardless of rank
proliferate hope
throughout a plundered world