I Fade Away

I am standing watching the river of time flow Days, nights, seasons, come and go I am praying to the lord to grant me strength and will I am wishing in my heart that time would stand still Memories flow through my mind like grains of sand I think of my parents who taught me to walk, to stand My wife, my child, who helped my feet stay aground My friends who stood by me, even when my actions weren’t sound I think about my job, my uniform, the shine of brass Of testing times when I stared death in the face When my men toiled, spilt guts and blood Never disobeying an order, for thoroughly they were bred Today I stand at the threshold of death and life But I see the results of all that trouble and strife I see the way my boys became men And stood by me and shared my burden As my eyes close and I take my final breath I feel at peace and smile at death I know my life was well lived, wasn’t wasted away I hope that’s what my family and my men would say.