Who can remember
Who can recall
The day in November
We scaled the last wall
The day the war ended
The fighting suspended
Some 93 years ago?
Who can remember
The 11th hour
Of the 11th day
Of the 11th month
When the armistice was signed
And the “war to end all wars”
Came to an end?
So while many soldiers
Still lie in Flanders fields
Few folks remember
Why or when.
It’s time once more
To teach our children
That our freedom
Came with a cost
And if we don’t remember
It could one day
All be lost.
Robert L. Oberst
Syracuse
Blessing
Ever so quietly,
The growing season left us.
While we were asleep,
The crickets stopped their song and
When the sun came up,
A frosty white blanket
Covered the flowers out back
With an icy glaze.
Heavy, cold air moved
Red and yellow leaves
Past our window.
A clear blue sky
Seasoned with a few puffy clouds
Brought back memories
Of many autumn days.
The smell of cold apples
On the front porch
And the taste of apple-cinnamon pancakes
With maple syrup from the kitchen
Mixed with the familiar feel
Of an old flannel shirt
I wore as I walked out
To check the garden.
It is a God-given blessing
To be alive
On days like this.
Robert L. Oberst
Syracuse
Fall Air
Crisp fall air
Stirs inside of me
Memories of falling leaves
And stormy lakes,
Of apple-filled trees
And geese passing south,
Of fluffy white clouds
Against a deep blue sky,
Of plump pumpkins
And curious chipmunks,
Of fresh-squeezed cider
And many colored hills,
And of God,
Who made them all.
Robert L. Oberst
Syracuse