Pfc. Brett L. Tribble

The colors in Texas are different.
Bluebonnets pale and the Indian paint

brush refuses to bloom. Since
you went to war clouds do not remind us

of elephants and clowns. Laughter's
sound is a faded song trapped in a tin can.

Occasions are not special. There will never
be a more beautiful smile. I will think of you

when parents show pride at a wedding,
graduation, birth. When flags, or wins

bring people to their feet, or I feel pride
in a child’s accomplishment, a boy’s beauty—
I will think of your parents.

KL Monahan