Just a Soldier

He celebrated his enlistment And proudly showed the pictures of his plane, A screaming bird emblazoned with the stars And stripes. He joked about our home fried chicken And kissed his baby sister, promising To bring back toys and treats from foreign lands. He believed in freedom, said that all The people of the world should have that chance; The Viet Cong would rue the day The soldiers of America marched across their land. They brought him home in pieces, Shielded in a casket closed, draped With the flag he bravely served. We take the roses to his grave, Red and white and bound with ribbons blue; We weep, not alone for him, But for the “huddled masses yearning to breath free,” And for the valiant efforts that may have been in vain.