"Vietnam Shadows" By Sarah Hubbard

Photo by the author

Reading names of men I never knew,
blurring as I stare into myself,
they came to rest in me.

I gazed into remains of warriors who never left the battle.
Nothing left but a flag and chain of identity,
I saw their sights etched into stone,
the ground littered in contemporary memorial
faux petals and cotton stripes.

Sarah Hubbard is 15 years old; she lives in Palmyra, Maine. As part of her visit to Washington, D.C. where Sarah took her inspiration for this poem about the Vietnam War Memorial, Sarah writes, “I’m a positive person, I always try to find the best in someone and bring out the best in them. In July 2021, I along with three teammates, competed in the Nationals of JLAB (JROTC Leadership and Academic Bowl) in Washington D.C. on the academic team representing Army JROTC of Maine. And after fifteen years of loving pandas, I finally saw my first panda!”