The Daddy Soldier

At four years old she kissed him goodbye In his splendid soldier’s uniform She was saddened to see her mother cry As he set off for a land that’s foreign She didn’t understand the reasons Why her Daddy had to go She only knew it was a soldier’s duty Because her Daddy had told her so By five years old she had forgotten his smell From the after-shave when he gave her a kiss She had gotten used to life without Dad But by her mother, every day he was missed Today her father came home Though it wasn’t a day full of smiles He would be traveling in a wooden box Across the many miles Six soldiers carried him off of the plane With an American flag draped over the top She watched the tears flow from Mommy’s eyes As if they’d never stop She stood up and she saluted them The way her Daddy had shown Not completely cognizant Of the eternity of his new home When Daddies of little children Die for some vague political cause Every living human being Should stop in thoughtful pause In wars there are no winners Just some who loose much more Victory has hollow meaning When Daddy dies when you are four