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Dirge for Two Veterans
by Walt Whitman

The last sunbeam
Lightly falls on the finished Sabbath,
On the pavement here - and there it is looking Down
a new-made double grave.

Lo, the moon ascending,
Up from the east the silvery round moon,
Beautiful over the housetops, ghastly, phantom moon,
Immense and silent moon.

I see a sad procession,
And I hear the sound of coming full-keyed bugles,
All the channels of the city streets are flooding,
As with voices filled with tears.

I hear the great drums pounding,
And the small drums steady whirring,
And every blow of the great convulsive drums
Strikes me through and through.

For the son is bought with the father,
In the foremost ranks of the fierce assault they fell,
Two veterans, son and father, dropped together,
And the double grave awaits them.

Now nearer blow the bugles,
And the drums strike more convulsive,
And the daylight o'er the pavement has faded,
And the strong dead march enwraps me.

What I have I also give you.
The moon gives you light,
And the bugles and the drums give you music,
And my heart, O my soldiers, my veterans,
My heart gives you rest.

November 4th marked the fourth year in my participation in the Blog Blast for Peace. People from 200 countries created peace globes and posted about peace, all on the same day. Isn't that remarkable? Take a peek at some of the entries:

The Official Site of Blog4Peace

If you scroll down the page, on the left hand side is a list of countries and states that have peace globes available for viewing. Also, the creator of the movement Mimi Lenox, shares her own annual entries. I will add this site to my list of links.

In 2004, my husband Dan and I visited Hawaii courtesy of his uncle Mickey, who had told us to go on our dream vacation while I was still healthy enough to enjoy it (good advice as I am no longer able to travel more than about 250 miles away from home). He passed away before we were able to make the trip. During our first full day on Oahu, I stood on the lanai of our high-rise condo after a storm. The sun came out, and a vibrant double rainbow stretched across the sky over lush green hills. I took that as a sign that Uncle Mickey approved of our choice of vacation.

Rainbows are a time-honored symbol of peace and are present in mythology the world over. In the book of Genesis, following the great flood, God sent a rainbow as a promise to Noah and his family that the planet would not be wiped out again. The slate was wiped clean. From Genesis 9:13–17: 
"I do set my bow in the cloud, and it shall be for a token of a covenant between me and the earth. And it shall come to pass, when I bring a cloud over the earth, that the bow shall be seen in the cloud: And I will remember my covenant, which is between me and you and every living creature of all flesh; and the waters shall no more become a flood to destroy all flesh. And the bow shall be in the cloud; and I will look upon it, that I may remember the everlasting covenant between God and every living creature of all flesh that is upon the earth. And God said unto Noah, This is the token of the covenant, which I have established between me and all flesh that is upon the earth."

Rainbows are simultaneously a reflection and refraction of light; I like to see them as harmonious. Nature's own box of crayons, the spectrum of colors represents to me diversity and proximity of multiple cultures, leaving no one out. Who can remain gloomy at the sight of one?

May we all exist as harmoniously and as colorfully as a rainbow. Peace be with you, today and always.