For a lot of people, Memorial Day is the kick-off for summer. A day for picnics and barbecues. The beaches in San Diego have been packed all weekend and that will continue today.
But Memorial Day is supposed to be about members of the military who died in service for our country. A day to honor them. To remember and appreciate.
In honor of Memorial Day, TRT – the blog of Teens Read Too – has had three authors guest-blog about their books that deal with current military life. Saturday featured Roseanne Parry, author of the beautiful book Heart of a Shepherd. Sunday’s guest was Suzanne Morgan Williams, author of Bull Rider – can’t wait to read that one. And then today is Sara Lewis Holmes, author of Operation Yes, one of my absolute favorite books. Warning: Her post made me cry. A must read for today!
And because poetry says so much.
STARS by Deborah Chandra (from Balloons and Other Poems; Farrar, Straus and Giroux 1990)
I like the way they looked down from the sky
And didn’t seem to mind the way I cried.
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And didn’t say, “Now wipe away those tears,”
Or, “Tell us, tell us what’s the matter here!”
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But shining through the dark they calmly stayed.
And gently held me in their quiet way.
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I felt them watching over me, each one—
And let me cry and cry till I was done.
Sarah Wones Tomp
WRITING ON THE SIDEWALK
