---=* Sentinel *==---

It is a symbol to us all,

this silent wall of stone.

It tells of a thousand foolish mistakes

made in a hundred nameless places.

It preaches of the uselessness of war,

and reminds us of those whose passing

brought endless anguish.

It stands as a bitter monument to the

mistakes of a proud country.

It is beautiful, regardless.

Strange how such a silent structure

can pass so much on to those who see it

merely by using words such as

Porter, David P

Atkins, John K.

Alvarez, Julio D.

MacDonald, Brian M.

The only words I remember from the

many workers who built it was from one,

a young man with long hair and a tatoo,

who wiped tears away when it was done

and said, Please that we never build

another so beautiful, nor so futile.

I cried there, once.

----=*=----