9 June 1944

At one o’clock
She heard it
So faint and soft
And slow
The song was ever
On his lips
sweet Mary from Dungloe
She blessed herself,
and prayed for him
Her first and only love
She blew a kiss;
just so it lands
As gentle as a dove.

It came to him
that fateful day
Through smoke,
and fire, and hell
A waft of sweet gardenias
The ringing of the bell.

He took the kiss,
a fleeting prayer
The touch of her dear hand

As time ran out
and he bled about
On a lane
in Carentan

Robert Emmett McGrogan
Westtown, NY