Shadows
By Tom Phillips
Their shadows play across our lives
Vestiges
That harken us to them
Like reflections from distant mirrors.
Vestiges
That harken us to them
Like reflections from distant mirrors.
Gone from us these many years
Away
But not lost to us
Leaving for others to ponder
What happens when the journey ends.
Those touched by them know the answer
Is not darkness
But transformation
Renewal
An end and a beginning.
Leaving lessons taught without seeming to teach
Chapters well-lived
Softly spoken
Richly illustrated.
Reminding us
That it is the depth of life
Not the length
That has value.
Leaving particles in our souls
Passing from next to next
Shaped and re-shaped
But persisting still.
Each life part of what was and what will be
Gently resurrected
Mirror upon mirror reflecting shadows
Across the ages.
During a 36-year career in the military, Tom Phillips led an isolated unit through a terrorist episode, ran a think tank for the Commander-in-Chief Strategic Air Command, served as the Director of the Air Force Military Personnel Readiness Center during Operation Desert Storm, and led some of the first American troops into Sarajevo, Bosnia-Herzegovina. The author of six books on military history and one on baseball, he teaches courses on Americana and military history for the Osher Life Long Learning Institute at the University of Nebraska. He has a master’s degree in Organization Behavior from the University of Colorado and is a graduate of Air War College. Tom writes poetry when the time feels right. He is the winner of the Iliad Press International Writing Competition for the 9/11-related poem titled "The Day After Tuesday." Tom and his wife Nita live in Lincoln, Nebraska.