Eulogy for the Fallen

Memorial Day at the Capitol

“Those who have long enjoyed such privileges as we enjoy forget in time that men have died to win them.”

- Franklin D. Roosevelt

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This year my family and I celebrated Memorial Day by traveling to Washington D.C. to visit a friend. This was my second time in the capital city but the last trip was for work and there was little time to explore. Unfortunately, we seem to have brought the rain with us, and it has been unrelenting since we stepped off the airplane on Thursday. Nevertheless, it has been an enjoyable experience, even if a little wet. The highlight so far was attending the Smithsonian National Air and Space Museum with my kids. My eight-year-old son is absolutely obsessed with space, and when I asked him what he learned, he said, “nothing” because he already knew it all.

For my part, it was incredible to see the many historical artifacts that are preserved around the city, from the lunar lander and original spacesuits that went to the moon to the copies of the Constitution and Declaration of Independence. The latter document was so faded it was nearly impossible to read. I had to buy a facsimile copy at the gift store in the National Archives to prove to our hosts that my name can be found on the document.

Another enjoyable pastime has been looking for various signs and symbols of Rome and calling these out for my daughter to interpret. She has been studying Latin for the last year and shares my enthusiasm for the subject, having just finished reading The Iliad, The Odyssey, and The Aeneid in quick succession. Her biggest complaint is that none of her friends at the classical school she attends know anything about these stories or their subjects, and so she had no one else to talk to about what she had read.

Together we translated the seal found on the floor of the National Archives: Littera scripta manet.

At Mount Vernon we examined George Washington’s personal seal: Exitus acta probat.

And in the West Building of the National Gallery we found the inscription: Rex regum et Dominus dominantium.

I very much enjoyed our visit to Mount Vernon and can finally associate a sense of place with the name. In particular, it was enjoyable to see the greenhouse where George Washington grew his pineapples and to learn more about his household and how it functioned. Learning the names and stories of the many slaves who worked the estate and served Washington was also meaningful and helped illuminate the human cost of slavery.

The view of the Potomac from the manor was incredible.

Along the way we saw Arlington National Cemetery, which was very fitting for Memorial Day.

In 2003, while in college, I wrote a song inspired by my mother’s annual tradition of placing flowers on the family graves in Sanford, CO. I performed the song around town and managed to get a recording.

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Eulogy for the Fallen

In remembrance of our dead

I lay flowers on your grave

With whispers of hope transcendent

Of all the sorrows left behind

And I won’t ever forget you

For all the days of my life

Through every turn of fate

I will offer this memory

As a memorial to you

In remembrance of this life

And all those left behind

In shadows we’re still dreaming

In mourning of our loss

And I won’t ever forget you

So many days go by with sober reflection

As memory fades to dust and is swept away

The brightness receding to darkened gray

withdraws from the heavens

Beneath the starlit night

And beckons the twilight come

We need more time

To live

O wretched night

Bleeding the light from our eyes

And stealing the life from our hearts

Leaving us to drown in these icy depths

Please don’t leave me here alone

I cannot stay here on my own

Abandoned solace burns in my eyes

From this nightmare so haunting I hope

To arise in the morning light

From this nightmare I will arise

Eternal night, Fountain of enmity

Release my sight

And fall away

Will I never be all right?

Is this my destiny?

To remain in endless night

And fall away

I’ll open my eyes tonight

With memories of yesterday

And hope to see that light

Never fall away

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Happy Memorial Day!