Frozen General Poem by Herbert Nehrlich

Frozen General



I felt a little dizzy at the grave.
And there he was, so frozen to the bones.
The snow was barely sweetening the place.
So silly to now have a conversation,
when over decades we had never managed it.
But what am I to do with one way barbs
the ones you cleverly implanted while I slept?
I'm sorry if you're freezing in that hole,
I'm not without compassion, as you know.
Though did not learn this trait from you or mother
but from the books I read, the ones you told me 'no'.
Ran out of words already, isn't that a joke!
Perhaps this comes from you forbidding me to speak.
During your lifetime when you thought you were
commanding general to the troops around you.
Don't kid yourself, you never really were.
I gotta go now, although I do wonder,
would you concern yourself about some frozen bones?
If it were me down in that lonely hole
and you were standing in my place saluting whom?

COMMENTS OF THE POEM
Herbert Nehrlich1 28 December 2004

Thank you both. And, Poetry Hound, I have such a huge collection of barbs still.... also, one little one was used by saying 'the' grave as opposed to 'your' grave. I assume you have not read many of mine....(I like most of them) H

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Pradeep Dhavakumar 28 December 2004

Very nice.Very touching.Thank You.

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Poetry Hound 28 December 2004

This is the best one of yours I've read. Even though he's dead, you can't resist getting another barb in - 'Don't kid yourself, you never really were.' Makes the piece more dimensional.

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