Contemplating looking in the mirror…
Excerpted from – Bridges Don’t Fall Down
Bridges don’t fall down
Not here in the U.S.A.
What can those in government possibly say
Though this make them frown
Well good
They should look at themselves hard
And should not in the least think to spare the rod
Upon themselves…
-gl-
From – Bridges Don’t Fall Down: Stories from the I35W Bridge Collapse
Regarding heroism…
Excerpted from – No Asking Why
…Then thinking he might be ok he got out to prove
That he still could and stepped out into bedlam
Get away before more concrete rained
But hearing screams crossed the bridge hoping to find a way
To save the children in the bus from falling
Further. There was no stalling
And no asking why
-gl-
From – Bridges Don’t Fall Down: Stories from the I35W Bridge Collapse
Regarding fear, courage, and heroes…
A Hero None the Less
And in our most hallowed halls is where he is found
Fighting with passion loving his land
Under loads that would strike many down
Always he’s given more than duty demands
At the powerful it’s fun he pokes
Including himself to our delight
Never far from a smile or a light hearted joke
Even when it’s for his death his enemies hoped
-gl-
Duty and the fight…
Excerpted from… Governor of Carlisle
Robert the Elder and Lord of Annandale
Received the command
From Edward, King of England
To repulse the Scots. And so he did when they assailed
The great castle at Carlisle
The two John Comyns
Earl of Buchan and the Lord of Badenoch
With six more earls brought
An army to those walls and tried to storm in
But the Elder with his men held tenaciously while…
-gl-
Seeing the worth…
Shoveled His Drive
An old man says thanks
But I just shoveled his drive
For us he faced tanks
-gl-
Contemplating redemption and responsibility…
Undone
Whatever wrongs done
Can’t ever be undone and
You can’t always run
-gl-
Of responsibility and nobility…
Built This Thing
Sometimes people do the right thing
After thirty five years it has been getting to be time to go
But what it seemed like most would do would only throw
Out all those that had helped him bring
His business thru all the rough years
The sacrifice
Not just
His alone. Dreams would have been dust
Without their lives
And tears
So now he has decided that the very thing
To do is just what’s right though many would not know
How. But his company will continue to grow
Because he’s left it to those that have built this thing
-gl-
A tribute to Jim Dow, President of Diversified Plastics
Of pain and sorrow in the struggle…
Robert Cried
As Bruce drifted like a phantom through the countryside
He began to draw
More that had become outlaw
One such had come to him but came not to hide
Here his dear old friend the Lady Christian of Carrick
And with her she brought her men that were mounted
More than a dozen her gift
But too, she brought news against which Robert would have wished
‘Twas the tales of his family she recounted
And it made him sick
Now for the first time he heard the fate of Scotland’s pride
How brothers and friends were tortured and killed in the English maw
How his women and beloved were caged with beds of straw
For all of this Robert cried
-gl-
Feeling the weight…
I Sit Here Alone
Fear grips me and I freeze
The time has come and I am so scared
False is the calm my facade declares
Now disgusted at this fear I feel so diseased
I find I cannot think
Normally calculate
The risk, then making the decision, accepting the results
But now I feel nauseous. Will my stomach convulse?
Not sure this time I can bear the weight
Here now, right at the brink
Pitiful. I feel as if I’m down on my knees
For this decision I do not care
I do not like it, it does not seem fair
Let it be alright, please
Gone through so many doors
Facing the night’s horrors
But this time
The danger was not mine
Giving the word, putting down the phone
Sending them in, I sit here alone
-gl-
From – A Warrior’s Battles: A Book of Struggle (Not Yet Published)
Regarding Responsibility…
Bridges Don’t Fall Down
Bridges don’t fall down
Not here in the U.S.A.
What can those in government possibly say
Though this make them frown
Well good
They should look at themselves hard
And should not in the least think to spare the rod
Upon themselves while thinking of those upon whom they have trod
Our officials should not be free to discard
Those that have withstood
Neglect or the rising of the ground
But the earth didn’t rise and this isn’t gray
It was neglect that led to this calamitous day
In a land where bridges don’t fall down
-gl-
From – Bridges Don’t Fall Down: Stories from the I35W Bridge Collapse © 2008