Another vacation-inspired poem, I came up with the idea for this piece after seeing an historical museum exhibit of a World War I-era solider's uniform and bridal gown arranged in a wedding-like pose. The title characters are my maternal grandparents, a North-Central Illinois farm couple. He did serve in World War I.

Frank and Martha

Like a sepia-touched portrait,

A doughboy before battle

Crsip and sharp in olive drab,

Erect, with collar high

Before marching off to war.

His arm around his only girl,

Simple in a dingy white dress.

The flowing robes of the prairie.

A simple picture of a young ghost couple,

A stern but festive day,

A farmer and a farm girl.

Then his country called

And he marched off

To no man's land

To make the world safe for democracy

But all it did was leave

Gas in his lungs

He came home and settled down

And worked hard on the farm

While setting off the chain which led to me.