A Belated Welcome Home
Written in 1981 after attending a Viet Nam veterans welcome home parade.
They march in step without a cadence call
and wear old uniforms, if they still fit,
recalling days when they were standing tall.
Five services, they represent them all;
a few in rolling chairs, required to sit.
They march in step without a cadence call.
On their parade a somber rain did fall,
but these were warriors not inclined to quit;
while some men heard the drummer not at all.
The flagless streets and silence they recall;
now greeted with a smile instead of spit.
They march in step without a cadence call.
On skeptic ears polite applause did fall,
for causes lost, but not their part in it;
while some men heard the drummer not at all.
The tears for those who died will ever fall
belatedly, a candle now was lit.
While some men hear the drummer not at all,
they march in step without a cadence call.
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