On Behalf of a Grateful Nation

by Kaitlin Mills

Gathered under the oak tree,
twenty-one blasts strike the air.

A marine approaches,
lays the folded flag in my hands.
Echoes from the salute the only sounds.

The bugle sings
as his bed lowers into the ground.

Now he’s gone.

Kaitlin Mills is the proud daughter of an Army Staff Sergeant who served two tours in Iraq before being medically retired after he suffered a traumatic brain injury during his second tour. She is a student at Northern Kentucky University where she is studying English Creative Writing. She is often inspired by her family’s military roots, and uses the inspiration to write poetry and often writes non-fiction pieces about her experiences in being a military daughter and sister. She lives in Northern Kentucky with her parents and her sisters.