Dead Soldier - edit

[TranquillityBase]

Dead Soldier    good title, a (nice) surprise as I read into the poem


This morning her last sweetness ran out, thin
and golden over waffles.  What am I
to do now with her empty husk, her name
emblazoned for this last time on its front–
my Aunt Jemima?  Kindly face long gone,
her smiling, chubby eagerness to please
updated, oddly younger as she aged          I think either a comma at the end of this line, or start next line with "which" (I'd prefer the latter)
could not be tolerated, lacking rage,
resentment, or that high-chinned fortitude
assumed unearned by those whose ancestors     a little puzzled by this phrase; I think I get it, but not completely sure
were victimized to coin their suffering.

A substitute stands waiting on my shelf,
identical in form and content, full
but lacking both her visage and her name:
“Pearl Milling Company,” it reads,                       actually, maybe the capitalization is enough, neither quotes or italics being needed
as sweet no doubt but charmless and remote.
So shall I transfer syrup from that new
to olden bottle or retain them both,
one for my waffles and the other as
a keepsake-relict of her loving soul,
dead soldier in obsessive culture wars                  maybe a less strident adjective here: "ongoing"?
whose time of mythic friendliness has passed?

Hi Duke,

Enjoyed the read, a few suggestions.  Had me travelling the 'net, looking for the image I remember before she was updated in the 60s. The new brand name is pretty lame, but certainly achieves neutrality I guess.  A thoughtful and provoking poem.

TqB