Arlington Cemetery

Did he ever sleep--
on that couch with five children?
Ear to Dad's chest the catbird seat.
Thump-thump.  Thump-thump.  
Until one day, his heart stopped.  

We first learned of the Korean War
from a few posed pictures
of dad in uniform-- leaning on a jeep,
lipping a cigarette casually.
But it was nothing we spoke of.

At the end, he just flat froze,
skin cool as Murphy marble-
with immutable alabaster eyes.

Monuments bear witness
to countless abrupt endings, when
soldiers metamorphose from
breathing beings to stone.