On display...

in whiffs of turpentine
the instinct of a soldier
awakens from a patina
of fossilized grain
and mahogany stock
that has seen battle
has seen death
seen victory

and a brass buckle
that slid on the bellies
of freedom's frontier
shines like an empty trench
in tarnished scars
etched in the history
of once brave souls

all this
hermetically sealed
in a glass case
that silently reflects
in the quiet of a democracy
with the cost only being admission
where oglers wait
at a fading front gate