Oh, Lord, What Have I Done

The glamorous uniform looked sharp in the posters about town. Recruiters convinced the lad to join the Marines of great renown! Reveille called, sergeants screamed, another tortuous day had begun! He cried, "Lord, have mercy on me! What in the world have I done!" The giddy lad proposed marriage to his beautiful young miss. She happily concurred and he looked forward to years of bliss! Now he has a common scold for a wife and a paucity of fun. He lamented, "Lord, have mercy! What in the world have I done!" The president-elect anticipated the perks and leading the nation, And the dream of his dubious promises sailing through legislation. He inherited unemployment, recession, wars and things left undone. He puzzled, "Lord, have mercy! What in the world have I done!" Assailed on all sides by savages and with things looking grim, The impetuous Custer found himself hanging on to a sagging limb! His last words might have been upon nearing life's setting sun: "Oh, Lord! Have mercy on me! What in the world have I done!" When we near the end of life's treacherous and rocky trail, And are about to enter eternity through that mysterious veil, We are apt to reflect on things we've done or left undone, By pleading, "Oh, Lord have Mercy! What MIGHT I have done?" Robert L. Hinshaw, CMSgt, USAF, Retired © All Rights Reserved