Looking for America

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Winter had not yet fallen

A crimson tide of red leaves

Rained down from the heavens

Mixed with the crisp blue of the fall sky.

I heard them before they came into view

The power and the glory of roaring thunder

Harley Davidsons as big as the wide

Open horizons of this great country.

They rode two by two with a majestic grace

The torchbearer bore an American flag tied to its pole.

I could hear it whistling in the wind.

The black flag of the POW brought up the rear.

I was suddenly moved to tears

A distant mourner behind a funeral procession

Transported to the far-off neighborhood of my youth.

I paused to show my respect

For all these young warriors buried like a time capsule

Beneath the dark soil of a distant land.

As my reverie receded

I was left to contemplate this bond of brotherhood.

How will we remember these warriors of our past?

How long will the Harleys last?

Disclosures:

Dr Varas has been in solo private practice in Westwood, NJ since 2007. She is a veteran in the US Navy Reserve, having recently completed her 8-year commitment as an officer in the medical corps as a critical wartime specialist in the field of psychiatry. Before starting her private practice, she was the Medical Director of a mental health center in Paramus, NJ for more than 10 years and served as the director of the PACT program for patients with chronic psychiatric illness. Upon completion of her fellowship in consultation/liaison psychiatry she was an attending psychiatrist at Bronx Lebanon Hospital in New York City in the consultation/liaison service.