Friends in Hell

               I remember you well, my friends
               My comrades-in-arms in Hell;
               Through quirks of fate came to different ends. . .
               In times I remember so well.

               You died in my arms, a broken man,
               Life ripped asunder by a shell;
               Or died you suddenly as a direct his can. . .
               As did so often in our war-torn Hell.

               I heard your screams, I saw your face. . .
               The mangled body or severed hand;
               I thanked God then t'was not I in your place,
               When the Hell of war visited the land.

             The Wall

               Etched in gold upon black stone,
               An endless list of names upon The Wall
               Here a cry, a sob, or groan. . .
               Remembering one name among them all.

               All quiet now, on this day so wet,
               Remembering those dead not so long ago. . .
               Amid war's Hell, their maker met. . .
               Their promising lives cut short and low.

               All heroes now, every race and creed,
               These soldiers who answered the call;
               Who gave their lives in times of need,
               Remembered, but names upon The Wall.

             Whither They

               Thou troublest my soul, oh bittersweet memory . . .
               Of friends and faces ne'er more will be;
               The people and places, the joys we shared;
               The bonds and friendships for whom we cared.

               Their youthful voices, stilled for years . . .
               Haunt me with their anguished cry;
               A harmony ringing in my ears:
               "Oh God!!! I didn't want to die!"

               Slowly time passes; year by year, day by day . . .
               The memories are fresh and won't fade away.
               The question arises, taunting 'til I cry:
               "Whither they, Dear Lord, and not I?"

                             - David W. Brewer, Ph.D.
                              Medical Education