A name on the wall

I slowly pass by

The name is not alone.

Another name is carved before it,

After it, above it, and below it.



A name on the wall

I slowly pass by

My reflection is on the wall of names.

I see my face among the names,

But I know no faces of these names.



A name on the wall

I slowly pass by

With each stride

I pass new names.

The names of faces I do not know.



A name on the wall

I slowly pass by

A single rose along the wall

Someone knew the face of a name.

A face within a sea of names.



A name on the wall

I stop and read

The name is of a man I do not know.

A father, a friend, a boy, a husband,

A brother, a neighbor, a soldier,

A son, a man,



The name on the wall

Once lived and loved.

A name on the wall

I slowly pass by.