> JUST A SIMPLE SOLDIER
>>
>> He was getting old and paunchy
>> and his hair was falling fast,
>> And he sat around the Legion,
>> telling stories of the past.
>>
>> Of a war that he had fought in
>> and the deeds that he had done.
>> In his exploits with his buddies;
>> they were heroes, every one.
>>
>> And 'tho sometimes, to his neighbors,
>> his tales became a joke,
>> all his buddies listened,
>> for they knew whereof he spoke.
>>
>> But we'll hear his tales no longer,
>> for ol' Bob has passed away,
>> and the world's a little poorer,
>> for a Soldier died today.
>>
>> No, he won't be mourned by many,
>> just his children and his wife.
>> For he lived an ordinary,
>> very quiet sort of life.
>>
>> He held a job and raised a family,
>> quietly going on his way;
>> and the world won't note his passing;
>> 'tho a Soldier died today.
>>
>> When politicians leave this earth,
>> their bodies lie in state,
>> while thousands note their passing
>> and proclaim that they were great.
>>
>> Papers tell of their life stories,
>> from the time that they were young,
>> but the passing of a soldier,
>> goes unnoticed, and unsung.
>>
>> Is the greatest contribution,
>> to the welfare of our land,
>> some jerk who breaks his promise
>> and cons his fellow man?
>>
>> Or the ordinary fellow,
>> who in times of war and strife,
>> goes off to serve his Country
>> and offers up his life?
>>
>> The politician's stipend
>> and the style in which he lives,
>> are sometimes disproportionate,
>> to the service that he gives.
>>
>> While the ordinary soldier,
>> who offered up his all,
>> is paid off with a medal
>> and perhaps a pension, small.
>>
>> It's so easy to forget them,
>> for it is so long ago,
>> that our Bob's and Jim's and Johnny's,
>> went to battle, but we know----
>>
>> It was not the politicians,
>> with their compromise and ploys,
>> who won for us the freedom,
>> that our Country now enjoys.
>>
>> Should you find yourself in danger,
>> with your enemies at hand,
>> would you really want some cop-out,
>> with his ever waffling stand?
>>
>> Or would you want a Soldier,
>> who has sworn to defend,
>> his home, his kin, and Country,
>> and would fight until the end?
>>
>> He was just a common Soldier
>> and his ranks are growing thin,
>> but his presence should remind us,
>> we may need his like again.
>>
>> For when countries are in conflict,
>> then we find the Soldier's part,
>> is to clean up all the toubles,
>> that the politicians start.
>>
>> If we cannot do him honor,
>> while he's here to hear the praise,
>> then at least let's give him homage,
>> at the ending of his days.
>>
>> Perhaps a simple headline,
>> in the paper that might say:
>>
>> OUR COUNTRY IS IN MOURNING,
>> FOR A SOLDIER DIED TODAY.
>>
>> Author Unknown

submitted by The Watchman

POETRY MAIN PAGE