Every Generation Remembers

By Bud Koenemund

For those who do not know peace.

Every generation forgets
Stories their fathers told; evoking horrors
Beyond the pale of humanity; debts
Recalled with cold sweat; mem’ries forever
Seared into their minds; invisible scars
Borne; never quite healing despite years passed.
This curse entices the young toward valor;
A supposed glory they think will last.
So, those terrible lessons must be learned
Again; steeped in blood, and death, and madness;
Where the dead are free, but survivors yearn
For solace: a peace they’ll never possess.
   Each age is destined to fan war’s embers:
   Every generation remembers.

I Still Cut Myself Open on Your Words

By Bud Koenemund

For "Her."

I still cut myself open on your words;
Once more replacing the numbness with pain;
Slicing through my psyche, trying to purge
Thoughts of you, as if blood could help regain
Years wasted, sanity rent, or the pride
Sacrificed pursuing false memories.
Innocence led me to believe your lies –
Seeming to offer love, answering pleas –
But, the more I tried to embrace your heart –
Clutching in vain at an ethereal
Emotion – the faster you tore apart
My world; making life immaterial.
   While wounds may scab over, time will not heal
   The burning torment of the shame I feel.

Teach My Fingers Words to Win Your Heart

For "Her."

How many sonnets must I pen before
You'll love me back? What number would you hold
As proof of devotion? Muse, I implore,
Grant me a gift valued higher than gold.
O, teach my fingers words to win your heart,
And I will abandon caution to make
The blood in my veins the ink for that art.
Give me your hand – let sweet affection wake
In thy eye and grow stronger in thy breast.
Demand your tribute, goddess, and despite
A poet's wit, I'll strive with every breath
To venerate you with the vows I write.
Lady, I beg thee, consent to be mine,
As I, by Heaven, am forever thine.