He was getting old
and
paunchy and his hair was falling fast,
and he sat around
the
Legion telling stories of the past.
Of the war he had
fought
in and the deeds that he had done.
In his exploits
with his
buddies they were heroes, everyone.
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 veteran 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 veteran died today.
When
politicians leave
this earth, their bodies lie in state,
while thousands
note their
passing and proclaim they were
great. Papers
tell
their life stories, from the time they
were young, but the
passing
of a veteran 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 veteran, who has 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 Bobs
and Jims and
Johnnys went
to battle, but we know. It
was not the
politicians
and their compromises 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 veteran,who
has sworn to defend his home,
his kin and
country, and
would fight until the end?
He was just
a common veteran and
his ranks are growing thin,
but his presence
should
remind us we may need his likes again.
For when countries
are
in conflict, then we find the military's
part is to clean up
all
the troubles 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 just a
simple
headline in the paper that might say
Our country
is in
mourning, for a veteran died today.
Unknown
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