by SSgt Bruce T. Forbes
(c) Copyright 1996 All Rights Reserved
(I had resisted the comparison of The Wall in Washington D.C. to the Western Wall in Jerusalem. But after visiting Jerusalem and praying at that Wall, I was assigned to the Pentagon and made a personal pilgrimage to the Wall on the Mall. Now, I understand and support the comparison.)
SSgt Forbes can be reached at forbesb@comm.hq.af.mil
I have prayed at two walls
And moistened both with my tears.
Both walls stand as witness
of great loss
and of pain
and of tragedy that should have never been.
People are silent at these walls;
their tears speak for them -
Tears for what was lost;
Tears for what could have been;
Tears that say: "If only...".
As people leave these two walls
their tears speak of resolve -
A resolve to not repeat
the great loss
or the pain
or the tragedy that should not have been;
A resolve to live so there will never have to be another wall
to remind us
of what was lost
or what could have been
or at which we will mourn and say "If only...".
I have prayed at two walls
and both have moistened me with their tears.