| Among the Roses |  |
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He was just a normal little boy
Playing for hours with his soldiers
Fighting battles on the floor
Enjoying nothing more
Than shooting shadows on the door
He thought of ways to make believe
Changing everything around him
A stick became his gun
Each battle always won
In the shining summer sun
He kept his slingshot in his pocket
Seeking out the perfect foe
Lying low in wait
Beside the garden gate
Where his victims met their fate
He lay among the roses there
Staring long at the neighbor's cat
His muddy shoes unlaced
Elbows calmly braced
For the feline foe he faced
He could hear his mother's warning
Ringing out inside his head
Watch my roses, son
Supper's almost done
Yes, I know, you're having fun
His target stopped dead in its tracks
Peering low to where he crouched
His slowly twitching tail
He swiftly did impale
Along the muddy garden trail
He heard his father's pick-up truck
Pulling up beside the house
With a broad, toothless grin
He jumped and ran to him
His buddy through thick and thin
His father, beaming, picked him up
Asking, how's my buddy doing
Did you have fun today
Is supper on its way
Let's go inside, okay
He helped his mother set the table
Arranging everything just right
He tried so hard to please
Learning in small degrees
Saying prayers on dirty knees
His childhood toys he put away
Growing tall into a man
Marching to Heaven's fife
Seeking an honest life
With children and a wife
He heard too soon the battle cry
Calling him to distant shores
Prepared, or so he thought,
For all that war had brought
So he served and so he fought
His innocence was left behind
Stepping off the chopper skids
There was no turning back
For things he did not pack
Or traits he may have lacked
He learned the meaning of pure hate
Something never taught in school
They wished to see him dead
Minus arms, a leg, a head
Forever filled with dread
He heard the bullets whizzing by him
Popping somewhere near his feet
Would this be the day
He would give his live away
In a world gone so astray
He fought back the hot adrenalin
Burning deeply within his chest
As he watched his buddy fall
Who once had stood so tall
Now without any legs at all
His turn came next among the chosen
Dropping down on dirty knees
Without a hiding place
Sweat rolling down his face
His gun still clutched in his embrace
He gave his life so others may live
Protecting them with all his might
With his very life and limb
From a future dark and grim
From Satan's every whim
He said nothing as he fell in the garden
On that battlefield far away
The bullets came too quick
His very soul to pick
Blood growing cold and thick
He could not see or hear his buddies
Lying prostrate in the mud
Protecting him even after death
Still fighting to the death
With every lasting breath
He would never see his home again
His mother, father, daughter, son;
Leaving the battle to the rest
He had passed the test
He had given his best
He lay among the roses there
Staring up with hollow eyes
His job on earth now done
No more battles to be won
In the heat of the rising sun |
By Nancy L. Meek
Copyright 2001
Listed February 4, 2010 |
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About Author... Nancy is the proud wife of William "Billy" J. Meek, a Vietnam War
Veteran, who served with the 1st Cavalry Airmobile Division, 11th Aviation
Group, 228th Battalion, Co. B.
Nancy's website |
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