Think Tank Thursday

Poets United prompt #41 is Uniforms and Serivce. I'm married to an enlisted man; CMC=Command Master Chief. He is an E9, the highest rank of the enlisted. He can go higher, Fleet and Master Chief Petty Officer of the Navy. I am not in the military, but have survived deployments while he took classes, went to sea, etc. There have been times with no communication, they have been moments of living where I could not discuss what I saw. One spouse did and was given a warning. The next time she called home and talked about the type of  planes she saw. She was removed from the island. The military police came to her door, told her to pack and took her to a plane. I lived closer to Russia than the U.S.; I was on an island in the Aleutian Chain called Adak.  There were long periods of time, I only had a vague idea what he did. I was better off not knowing, as he advanced the job changed to more pencil pushing, and now shrink. (no not really, but the CMC counsels people daily, among other duties.

This is a ceremony I witnessed, that touched me. I thought it would be poetic to share it.When I have gone to the Navy and/or Khaki Ball the ceremony of  "The POW/MIA Table". It is a table set for one, it symbolizes
members of the military missing from the Navy's midst. Prisoners of War or Missing in Action is what most call them; the Navy calls them brothers.


Dining room illuminated
Colors arrive
Ship's bell is rung
Attention on Deck

MC announces the mystery guest
Corner table for one
set for our missing brothers
remember their place
one small and frail prisoner against unfavorable odds
purity covers table
intention spreads to respond
duty call to arms
precious red rose in vase
lives in  faith
determined ribbon, reminiscent red accounted for
 bitter lemon fate on bread plate
salt sprinkled, tears as family waits
no toast, no cheer tonight
inverted glass, no one to partake
empty chair, no one there
Remember those brave souls have not forsaken you
Depend on their aid
Bear witness and remember
unyielding determination
for the Land of the Free

Challenge #2 The Little Prince

"Pure logic is the ruin of the spirit"  This is the quote I chose to highlight from the book, "The Little Prince"
~  I wanted to share, what one misses, when they don't follow the wisdom of the prince and let their inner child die.

Clouded sulfur clusters over puddles of grief
Pale boarders arrive in mourning cloaks
Molded scowls etch deep lines
Craggy, tired bones shuffle onward
Twinkle in mind's eye remembers
Youth's fountain, others jumping rope, skipping and baseball,
Passion's promise lost in limbo,
Tilted universe appears in
reversed dreams,
Soon arrival in deep, vast abyss
Hope for milky gate of pearls
Connect the stars
Secrets blooms with faded frost
Five keys allow entry
Fast forward
Journey in a photograph
of a life unlived~