even the honored dead
are still dead
and the dead forget
everything

remembering
is the business of the living
in every era
insufficient to our own humanity

honoring honor
and glorifying glory
will not settle
debts we can never repay

if we sing
the awful truth of sacrifice
grief and horror
may awaken those better angels

(from Jeff MacGregor, “Flesh, Blood, and Bronze,” Smithsonian, June 2022, pp. 38, 40, 41)