They lie there limply
Against their poles
Half masted
Becalmed
This windless
Breathless day
As though so drained of emotion
They have no energy for even
A desolutory flutter
In acknlowledgement
As the quick lime is poured
Over the still forms
Of the massed warriors
Culled
And this battlefield
Is tidied and readied
For the next time
Half masted they lie
For a little while until
They fly once more
At full mast
As though to say
It is forgotten
At full mast they fill out
Proudly in the rising wind