The Gentleman

You shouldn’t be buried somewhere unmarked in there and I shouldn’t be here. You should not have done that for me. So many tears I’ve cried for you over the years. In the trench you saw my fear. You saw the scared boy of me. You protected the innocence I hold so dear. The most important part of me. You saw the shaking of my hands while your dead steady aim was so straight and true. You were a presence of a man. A formidable soldier, no fear, no fool. You ran into gunfire aimed at me. You died out there so that I could be here. There was no tougher man out there, this I know. This I know and I hold your memory so dear. You showed a care for my life, a care that the world didn’t want to know or hear. Always the gentleman, always the strongest and kindest with the greatest smile. After the war you were everything to me I want you to know. It’s been thirty years since last I was here. Thirty years I never forgot you, I’ll never let the memory of you go. You died for me on this battlefield. My life, my wife, my kids, my smile… I owe all of that to you.