In honor of Lt. Albert D. Holbrook and Pvt. Arthur E. Winslow, who were killed in France in World War I.

Maine seems a quiet place

but gives its sons and daughters

to the greedy maw of death

to battle in France

ordered to do the impossible

by Black Jack Pershing

young citizens of the globe

Private Winslow, Lieutenant Holbrook

two of Rocklands' finest

fallen by

machine guns invented in Maine

what is it that keeps men at war

why they went for the last trench

young men, who could

have prospered, been schooled, had families

jobs that would have

helped the nation seek peace

knowing that life

is their cause

to moderate the quest

How can we possibly know

the last seconds of their wounds

breathing hard as their lungs gave out

blood runs out cold

who is it who demands their fate

we may never know

but the candles of our hearts

will never cease to shine

for these sacrificed young

Kendall Merriam lives in Rockland