America, Before the Storm

By Gerald Lewis Geiger

AMERICA, BEFORE THE STORM Portrait of a Nation
By Gerald Lewis Geiger (Copyright 2005)

This is a collection of poems in rhythmic and rhymed verse, about America, her place in Atlantica and the World, and a Time in Our Age that brought out the best in us.

We all are gathered and accounted for in this company the mighty and the not-so, the many and the few; all those who serve and those who only stand and wait. All of us are rich and fortified because of it, foras the Ancients had itpoetry is music of the spirit without the notes!

Poetry is lovepure and straight and steadyfor it nourishes that by which we live with food not otherwise obtainable. Poetry will lilt the soul through days and years of choring, searching, grasping, through fortune and calamity and leave us better, nobler beings.

AMERICA, BEFORE THE STORM Portrait of a Nation starts with the 9/11 bang that jolted us and US awake. Against the background of our national hurt and anger, the work marshals our spirit and braces our resolve. It reaches back to trials past and glories gained. It proclaims our case and spotlights our feats that make so many throughout the world seek our land and ways.

AMERICA, BEFORE THE STORM - Portrait of a Nation, by Gerald Lewis Geiger, tellsin lyrical languageof an Honor Roll, writ in sweat and blood, spelled out by the genius and guts of a people, young yet wise enough to build and plant and nurture generations.

It sends a hearty Hello! to all the generations, including the X-ers, who built this magnificent House and Home America!

We all are there, and what we did and do and plan; deeds are recorded, fairly marked; due credit is awarded.

Somewho should know better-rattle on and on about this-that-the-other-thing they disapprove of in America. But then they copiously copy us! Such flattry in their imitation of our course!

In the epic poem The First Day of Forever, the author honors America. He shows us whats at stake and calmly tells us that its we!

The author brings our priceless Classic genre into Modern Times with A Prince for All Time the humanly elegant tale of a search for a new home to strike roots, certainly a timely topic in our Age of Mass Worldwide Migrations, what with people crossing land and sea frontiers, settling far from place of birth, to build a career and raise a family.

He pays tribute to the martyred artists of the Prague Spring and Maos Hundred Flowersboth of which shook a caring humankind with A Thousand Flowers Died.

And he asks the abyssal question of All Ages: Who art Thou, Man? Whence came you, Man? And whither goest Thou? His answer is so obvious and, yet, so profound.

The book puts Americas wars in perspective in Roll Call of Liberty to highlight our gains and sacrifices as we sail in Harms Way again.

Full faith and credit is given to Atlantica, the fertile furrow for seeds of human genius, and to The Atlantic Family, the composite catalyst of human progress, the historical marriage of the best from West and East and North and South.


POWER POETRY FOR THE PEOPLE A poem a day keeps the blues away!
This is THEME Poetry
and the Theme is AMERICA,

the Core of the American Idea
the Promise of the American Ideal

This is To the People Poetry
It SOUNDS OFF in the clearwithout a dozen footnotes on each page.
It LILTS the routine pace of life along.
It LIFTS the burdened spirit.
It LOFTS our thoughts and dreams.
It BOOSTS the Will to Win.
It SPARKS the Imagination.
It SUMMONS the Ingenuity.
It BRACES the Sinew.

A constant call to the Heart and Reason of Americans as America once again sails in Harms Way.

These poems show us whats at stake and tell u

• Language: English
• Publisher: Xlibris US
• Release date: Mar 23, 2006
• ISBN: 9781465327536

Gerald Lewis Geiger

Linguist, student of the Classics, world traveller. Valor-decorated, two-war combat veteran; husband, father, grand-father. Full name: Gerald Lewis Aurelius GEIGER-NEMES von ALAMOR-RADESEY Professional name: Gerald Lewis Geiger. Pen name: Gerasim Geiger-Garagayev. P.S. The Tale of Katya and Patrick is also available in ballet-opera-play form.

Book preview

AMERICA,

BEFORE

THE STORM

Gerald Lewis Geiger

© 2005

Copyright © 2006 by Gerald Lewis Geiger.

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any

form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or by any information storage and retrieval system, without permission in writing

from the copyright owner.

First Edition

I. Title. II. Series:

(Series): 1)

This book was printed in the United States of America.

To order additional copies of this book, contact:

Xlibris Corporation

1-888-795-4274

www.Xlibris.com

[e-mail]

31977

Contents

Preamble

Volume I, Book One

AMERICA, THE CAUSE

THE FIRST DAY OF FOREVER

THE SONG OF LIBERTY

ATLANTIC FAMILY

CADET PROLOGUE

AMERICA, THE ARK

ATLANTIC HIGH ROAD

QUIS EST, HOMINE?

A THOUSAND FLOWERS DIED

A PRINCE FOR ALL TIME

A PRINCE FOR ALL TIME

A PRINCE FOR ALL TIME

THE PASSION AND THE URGE

THE STRANGEST OF TIMES

PRIZE THE POET

WE AMERICAN AMERICANS

OH, MY AMERICA!

WE, OF THE EARTHSHIP CREW

Volume I, Book Two

AMERICA COMMITTED

ROLL CALL OF LIBERTY

The Old, the New and the Ageless

DISPATCH RIDER

THE BUDDY OF CHRIST

Seven Wars for Freedom

THE WAR THAT KILLED ALL DREAMS

THE WAR OF JUSTICE DONE

VISITING THE WORLD WAR II MEMORIAL

THE WAR OF CHALLENGE MET

The Korean War

THE KOREA SONG +

KOREAN BIVOUAC

MY BUDDY +

THE WAR OF ICE AND THREATS

The Cold War

THE WAR OF ICE AND THREATS

A COFFIN NAIL FOR EVIL

The Vietnam War

…SO YOU SHALL KNOW …

YOU DID WIN AFTER ALL

THE WAR OF SUN AND SAND

The Gulf War

WORLD WAR IV

THE SONG OF THE SPECIAL FORCES +

Guns and Guts and Bayonets …

THEY SERVE ALIVE OR DEAD

THE CREED OF MILITARY SERVICE

THE FLAG

WE SHALL REMEMBER YOU

SOLDIER OF GOD

A SOLDIER’S FAITH

TO THE SOLDIER IMMORTAL

SOLDIER OF THE LORD

THE SQUADRON(*)

CHAPLAIN CHALLISS

. .. AND FIND YOU MEASURE UP!

SEEING THE DEAD

ON CHRISTMAS AFTERNOON

THE SERVICE CLUB

RECALL EPILOGUE

Endnotes

Dedication

This work is dedicated to

Anne, Marie, Marian, Marcus and William

And to

A lovely lady—

Pure as the driven snow,

Honest as the day is long—

Who went down like a fine ship,

With all flags flying,

And left us

A legacy of courage.

Love everlasting,

Dispatch Rider¹

Forsan et haec meminisse iuvabit.

(Latin proverb)

[Some day, perhaps, all this

will be but a pleasant memory.]

Preamble

This is a collection of poems, in rhythmic verse, about America, her place in

Atlantica and the world, and a time in our Age that brought out the best in us.

The Author

Image527.PNG

Volume I, Book One

AMERICA, THE CAUSE

THE FIRST DAY OF FOREVER

An Epic Poem in Honor of America

That Day of Nine-Eleven

was the First Day of Forever,

the Forever we shall build

in spite of the threats and bombs.

Forever is our dream,

in-being, granite-solid,

a kinder, gentler way

of living with one’s neighbors

that must and shall endure!

That First Day of Forever

began like any other:

Americans, at work,

in factories, on farms,

at desks, in shops, at home,

squeezed into subway cars,

caught in highway traffic,

in elevators jammed,

banter ‘round the copier,

donuts, coffee, smokes …

… then flames and shattered glass!

A howling firestorm!

A roaring, rattling quake?

A molten-steel Inferno

by men of hate and venom !

Shrieks and gushing blood,

Charred and mangled bodies.

A quick Good Luck! Jump clear!

Descent into perdition!

America now wounded!

America outraged!

Catastrophe confronted!

Through tears we pray to Heaven,

in grief we mourn the dead.

In rage we cry for justice

and vengeance of the Lord !

Two cities, bashed and scorched!

Amid the twisted steel,

a leader, unafraid,

walked among the people.

Atop the smoking ruins,

at the rally on the rubble,

the Chief Executive

led the roar of trust,

of spirit and defiance!

The thugs did us a favor.

They got us fighting fit!

They gave us quite a jolt!

So, did you break, old chum?

Not in a million years!

I stood my ground, you bet!

No trail of fears for us!

With courage and tenacity

we dignify our Cause!

Come, then, abide a while

for I have tales to tell

and joys and hopes to share

and tears and blood to dry …

and face up to the fact

that we must fight, prevail

in a „shark-eat-dolphin" world!

This is the truth of the moment:

a fight to the death it is!

All that we are they hate,

all that we do offends them.

Far too gaping the gap

‚tween different views of the world.

Our lives in mortal peril,

our principles at risk!

Let loose the chants of war!

Scream „Havoc" to the Heavens!

Our Rubicon is crossed;

the bitter die is cast,

the stakes are highest yet!

Scourged to hunt revenge,

we will the clash of battle!

An end to heedless dreams!

For, win we must and shall!

We shall not flinch, nor fumble,

we will not doubt, nor tarry.

In Freedom we were born

and free we shall remain,

our lives and honor pledged!

America, the Vessel

of leadership by people

committed to the principle

of rule by voice and vote.

We see you, proud and swift,

a sturdy Ship of State.

Steady be your course

on waters, still or stormy.

Full steam, full speed ahead!

And never mind the gripers,

the pickers of the nit.

America, the blesséd,

your greatest test is now!

And fitted are you well

to pass with flying colors!

It’s the land, the flesh, the blood

and your guts that make you great!

Recall your hero-forebears,

the trials they have mastered

and be enlightened, heartened

for you can do as well!

Together let us soar

to heights of lasting faith:

affirm, confirm with me

belief in us and victory!

We, all together, share

the blessings of the Lord

and together, hereon forward,

shall face this mortal storm.

Life is a binding trust

and death can hold no sting

as we together strive

to win this fight we know

in our heart is right!

We gird for battle now,

commend ourselves to God

and go to make our land

safe again and strong.

What is America?

America is promise.

America is a dream.

America is hope.

A promise that’s redeemed.

A dream that’s lived each day.

A hope that strikes a spark …

… the spark that lights and leads

to the promised better life

in a land of dreams and deeds,

sought and built by millions

who crowd to our shores!

Let then this volume hail

the land that’s called America.

in terms that mark her mission:

to live a waking dream,

protagonist of hopes

and global human rights;

nurturer of tolerance,

host of inclusivity,

champion of liberty!

Discard, forget, erase

your gluttony of guilt:

you’re still man’s last best hope!

We shall not ever fret:

Who do they hate us so?

Let them reply to this:

Why come you by the millions?

A people proud of victories

and ways of life and government,

a model sought worldwide!

A people called to arms!

A summons to survival

through what may be in store.

A clarion call to guard

the spirit of America

that sparked a novel way:

to work and live and grow

in Freedom to achieve

the best each one can make

of talent, chance, and choice,

without regard to station.

A charge to keep alive

the joys of Liberty

for offspring down the ages

to well-deserved reward:

a life designed and built

in the image of the Good;

a way to beat a foe

possessed with hate and anger.

A notice to beware

to those who would connive

to kill with bloody malice

the very core of life:

the Liberty to be oneself,

in sync with common sense,

at peace with all around.

For well-nigh twenty years

the bombers slapped the nation:

we turned the other cheek.

In open court we sued them:

They used our laws against us!

There’s a madness to their method.

Now is the time of truth

we chose to overlook:

there is a fiendish foe

who’s pledged to wipe us out!

That Eleventh of September

will reach into the ages:

the bold, exalted rising

of the valiant ‘gainst the vile.

Self-sacrifice and love

and faith beyond endurance

dispelled the ugly darkness

cast by a soulless gang.

Apocalypse is mine,

exults the Prince of Evil.

Is Armageddon near?

Not by a long shot, bub!

This War to Save World Freedom

demands much more than muscle.

To strike and to endure

through ever-changing fortunes

the nation surely needs

a Spirit, clear but light:

firm grasp on core ideas,

true to self and kin.

Well, poetry has power

that merits high esteem,

puts mind in gear with heart.

Safe are the flights of fancy

it takes you on to pass

the many dicey moments

in a wildly churning world.

It lands you gently back

on earth to venture further

into the purer realm

of brighter sense perception

that, you, at will, can enter,

to linger, then to leave.

Savor the zest of poetry;

indulge yourself and seek

the thrill of rhythmic thought,

ride with the reason and rhyme.

Let varied verse and meter

transport you in the mood

to listen to your soul.

It summons you to rectitude

so things and teeming earthlings

may gather and achieve

in hale and hearty balance.

Aye, poetry has power:

it lilts your way along

the bumpy road of life,

it bears you through the barriers

of fire, flood, and tempest!

It boosts your fairest hopes

and lofts your fondest dreams

and, yet, it also offers

deep and solid meaning.

Let Liberty