Of Blood and Sand
(Du sang et du sable)
On endless beach I walk at last
And time is but a stranger,
As soldiers come as one again
Where waves remember danger.
The simple whisper of the sea
Falls loud upon my ears
With cries of fallen comrades
And to my eyes come tears.
It's here I know the battle raged
And grains of sand still see,
The courage that was wrought here,
Here at Normandy.
Old soldiers come to stand here
Where others fell and stood,
To comprehend what brothers faced
And wonder if they could.
The sea laps gently at my heel
As I gaze the verdant shore
And in my mind the bullets fly,
And cannons bark once more.
Now, puny words are penned by me
To speak of what I saw:
Lost hope and dreams, but then renewed
On a beach named Omaha.
Then, through the dark and murky clouds
Comes light in golden bands
And sparkles dance upon the sea
At this place of blood and sand.
The guns are strangely silent.
The battle now is done.
The only sound's the sweep of wave,
And a chill fades with the sun.
On Sacred sand I kneel to pray
At the marge of land and sea
For those who fought for freedom here.
They fought for you and me.
Written on a visit to Normandy, April, 2005
Bill Janes - Vietnam Vet
Copyright 2005, William Norman Janes, Sr. All Rights Reserved
