Malcolm M. Sedam
(1921-1976)

Malcolm M. Sedam

Poetry Memorial

at

Stone Gulch

 
Mr. Sedam's
Poetry Collections:
 
Linda Sue Grimes
 

 

  
Between Wars
The following poems are from Between Wars, Paul Edward Pross, Chicago 1967.  The fron matter contains the following: "Dedicated to Joseph Satterwhite who gave me the power to believe."   Joseph Satterwhite was a professor of English at Ball State University.
 
Instead of a prose introduction, Sedam introduces his first published poetry collection with the following "Declaration":
 
I believe
In fact I know it is so
That the time for acting has come
And I must play all of the parts;
Cast in this trauma of lines
The danger is saying too much
Yet I fear more
That silence or soliloquy
That deadens the soul,
So I grow more and less
Baptized with fire
Searching for a purpose
In pleasure and pain
Moving always toward the unknown —
I will be — poet — warrior
Warmer — wiser — dead
But on this stage all truth is shown
And now I know why I was born
Neither too young nor too old
Just right for this war.

 

Death Song
The sun will shine in the sky forever . . .
    I emptied my guns while I bled  —
The earth will grow new grass forever . . .
    I plunged to the ground in flames —
Mt. Fugi will rise from the plain forever . . .
    Let my bones rest on her side.

 

Death of a Marine

Watching the imperial call

Draining away his will

The thing I remember most:

The incredible blue of his eyes,

More than the blood-soaked shirt

More than the shell-torn isle

More than the greater war

In our last words:

"You'll see a better day," I started;

He smiled and was gone.

 

For Freedom

How fantastic is war

But more the military mind,

That epitome of pride

That turns the Spartan mill

And grinds everything

Into a grey nothing . . .

Remembering how we looked

As a measureless mass

And knew we no longer existed.

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