May 26, 2025: "Topography," Memorial Day, "Taps"

Yes, it is Memorial Day in the United States.  Every year, on the last Monday of the month of May, we celebrate and honor members of the U.S. armed forces who sacrificed their lives to defend our nation.  This year, more than any other, it's even more important to remember the true meaning of this day--the preservation of freedom and democracy against tyranny, hatred, and authoritarianism.

Sharon Olds writes about the United States . . . 

Topography

by: Sharon Olds

After we flew across the country we
got in bed, laid our bodies
intricately together, like maps laid
face to face, East to West, my
San Francisco against your New York, your
Fire Island against my Sonoma, my
New Orleans deep in your Texas, your Idaho
bright on my Great Lakes, my Kansas
burning against your Kansas your Kansas
burning against my Kansas, your Eastern
Standard Time pressing into my
Pacific Time, my Mountain Time
beating against your Central Time, your
sun rising swiftly from the right my
sun rising swiftly from the left your
moon rising slowly from the left my
moon rising slowly from the right until
all four bodies of the sky
burn above us, sealing us together,
all our cities twin cities,
all our states united, one
nation, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all.

Okay, Olds' poem is about sex.  It's not very subtle in that regard.  However, it's also about the freedom of speech (that's the First Amendment to the U.S. Constitution for all those MAGA readers who've never read the document upon which our entire country is based).  Olds can write a sex poem using the United States metaphorically and parodying the Pledge of Allegiance simply because it's her Constitutional right.

In other countries ruled by fascist dictators, poets have been thrown in jail for criticizing political leaders.  Stalin did it.  Putin is still doing it.  Fortunately, the Constitution prevents President 47 from doing it in the United States (for now).  All those brave members of the U.S. military who fought and died in armed conflicts did so in order to bear "true faith and allegiance to the Constitution" (that's in the oath all enlisted personnel take--check it out if you don't believe me).  They sacrificed their lives so Olds could exercise her Constitutional rights as a U.S. citizen.

I was raised to respect and honor all military veterans.  From a very young age, I knew that Memorial Day wasn't just about a three-day weekend and hotdogs and corn on the cob.  It's about who we are and what ideals we should all hold dear, regardless of political affiliation.  

I went to a Memorial Day parade with my family today.  Then, we attended a Veterans of Foreign Wars service at a local cemetery.  We placed flowers at the graves of relatives, including my father, who was a military veteran.

I am not a hater or war-monger or xenophobe.  I believe in the worth of everyone, no matter where you come from, what you believe, or who you love.  As a Christian, I was taught that all human beings are children of God.  Kindness and compassion should be the guiding force of everything we do.

If you don't agree with these ideals, you are NOT a true patriot and you are NOT a true Christian.  Sorry, not sorry.  Read the Constitution and the Bible.  It's pretty straightforward.

Saint Marty wrote a poem for Memorial Day based on the following prompt from The Daily Poet:

Write a poem where the first word starts with "A" and the last word of the poem ends with "Z."  Somewhere in the poem mention the alphabet or alphabetical order.  Have the poem be about something that has nothing to do with the alphabet.  For extra credit, try to use a word that begins with each letter of the alphabet.

Taps

by: Martin Achatz

At my father's grave today,

a flag licks the bright

air as if whispering 

his name, mustering  him

to attention, him standing

straight as a cornstalk

as my mother's ashes

sigh beside him, tell

him to settle down,

relax until the angels

blow "Reveille" and all

the war dead fall in,

waiting to be counted

one last time before marching

off to that final reckoning, 

from Private Second Class

Achatz to Staff Sergeant Zamora.

August 9: Beloved Manure, Another Rejection, Sharon Olds, "Topography," New Cartoon

And so Wilbur came home to his beloved manure pile in the barn cellar.  His was a strange homecoming.  Around his neck he wore a medal of honor; in his mouth, he held a sac of spider's eggs.  There is no place like home, Wilbur thought, as he placed Charlotte's five hundred and fourteen unborn children carefully in a safe corner.  The barn smelled good.  His friends the sheep and the geese were glad to see him back.

I love this passage about Wilbur coming home from the Fair, his survival assured but his life bereft of his best friend.   It holds everything that is so wonderful about Charlotte's Web.  The sense of home, of belonging.  Also, the sense of inevitable loss, of sadness in the midst of happiness.  Basically, it describes everyday life in very simple terms.  It's all about joy mixed with sorrow.

I've just spent a very quiet evening reading Preparing the Ghost by Matt Frank, a friend and colleague from the university (more to come on this book in a future post).  It was quite peaceful.  My wife had to work late.  My kids are spending the night at grandma's house.  Literally, all I had to do was come home, change into my pajamas, and read.

Some books make me want to write.  Ghost is one of those books.  It's beautifully written.  Poetic.  Smart.  Haunting.  When I finished the last page, I was excited to sit down with my laptop and write this post.  Then, I made the mistake of checking my e-mail before I started blogging.

In my inbox was a lovely communication from a magazine to which I recently submitted some poems.  Simply by the truncated memo line (POETRY SUBMISSION STAT...), I knew it was going to be another rejection.  I should be used to these messages by now.  However, for whatever reason, tonight, I felt like I was at a middle school dance watching all the cool kids making out under the bleachers.

I've been at this writing thing for a long time.  I send stuff out, get rejected, spend some time in the fetal position, and then send stuff out again.  That's the nature of publishing.  Those authors who become "overnight successes" probably have a mattress stuffed with rejection letters.  It's just been a very long time since I've gotten an acceptance letter, and I'm a little dispirited.

Of course, as the poetry editor of a respected literary journal, I am familiar with the other side of the coin, as well.  Sifting through hundreds of poems, looking for something startling or breathtaking.  It's a difficult position.  I know, wrapped up in every single submission I read, is a shard of hope.  The author wanting to be asked to slow dance to Cyndi Lauper's "Time After Time."

So, I will lick my wounds tonight and turn to Sharon Olds to make me feel better.  The poem below is one of her most famous.  It's been anthologized and reprinted all over the place, but there's a reason for that:  it's fucking brilliant.

Now, if you will excuse Saint Marty, he has a fetal position to assume.

Topography

by:  Sharon Olds

After we flew across the country we
got in bed, laid our bodies
intricately together, like maps laid
face to face, East to West, my
San Francisco against your New York, your
Fire Island against my Sonoma, my
New Orleans deep in your Texas, your Idaho
bright on my Great Lakes, my Kansas
burning against Kansas your Kansas
burning against my Kansas, your Eastern
Standard Time pressing into my
Pacific Time, my Mountain Time
beating against your Central Time, your
sun rising swiftly from the right my
sun rising swiftly from the left your
moon rising slowly from the left my
moon rising slowly from the right until
all four bodies of the sky
burn above us, sealing us together,
all our cities twin cities,
all our states united, one
nation, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all.

Confessions of Saint Marty