VFW Pen

In the shadow of Memorial Coliseum
the VFW built this garden, peace-sign shaped. Every year
they rototill and weed, plant bright flowers
along the arms. They gather and write
Salaam in colored chalk, in all the many tongues
this city owns, along the circle's rim.

Today one lost a pen-- I found it--
midnight blue, inscribed in silver ink
VETERANS OF FOREIGN WARS
OF THE UNITED STATES, Maltese-cross insignia,
click-out ballpoint tip. A little scuffed
from its encounter with the pavement. I hold it
and think of other labels that might fit:
Soldiers. Gardeners. Cultivators.
Survivors. Mourners.
Peacemakers.
Blessed.

Available! High-Voltage Lines, Knocking from Inside