Poetry Written By and For Veterans
Poetry Written By and For Veterans
The following poem is dedicated to every man and woman that served our country and gave of themselves for our freedom. I wrote it for my husband Guy W. Breedlove and my brothers Larry "Doc" Stanberry,
Joe "Ragman" Tarnovsky and Paul "Frenchy" LaChance.
Welcome Home And I Love You!
~ They Gave ~
They called our boys
and they proudly left.
To serve our country
and do their best.
Life as they knew it
was left far behind.
The sun and the moon
were their source of time.
With the wind at their back
some held strong.
They carried a load
on their shoulders too long.
Some gave it all
the blood that they shed.
On fearful grounds
they laid their head.
In the debts of hell
some still remain.
They search for deliverance
from suffering and pain.
They lived through things
I've no conception of.
But I know of themselves
they all gave their love.
Our flag held up high
with glory and pride.
Our boys paid a price
As they fought side by side.
Many years it has been.
How they pass us by.
But still to our boys
There are tears to cry.
In their life it's a part of them
that will forever remain.
Our boy's suffer the pain
over and over again.
When you pass by a Vet
that made it home,
Or hear of a brother
that is lost in Nam.
Open your hearts
and show them respect.
They gave of themselves
and they did their best.
WELCOME HOME!
Eileen Breedlove
This poem was found on the body of a nineteen-year-old American soldier in Vietnam.
~ A Boy Meets God ~
Look God: I have never spoken to You,
But now I want to say, "How do You do."
You see God, they told me You did not exist;
And, like a fool, I believed all of this.
Last night from a shell hole I saw Your sky;
I figured right then they had told me a lie.
Had I taken the time to see the things You made,
I would know they weren't calling a spade a spade.
I wonder, God, if You would shake my hand;
Somehow, I feel that You will understand.
Strange, I had to come to this hellish place
Before I had time to see Your face.
Well, I guess there isn't much more to say,
But I am sure glad, God, I met You today.
I guess the zero hour will soon be here,
But I am not afraid since I know You are near.
The signal - well, God, I will have to go;
I love you lots, this I want you to know.
Looks like this will be a horrible fight;
Who knows, I may come to your house tonight.
Though I wasn't friendly with you before,
I wonder, God, if you would wait at the door.
Look, I am crying, me shedding tears!
I wish I had known you these many years.
Well, I will have to go now, God. Goodbye -
Strange, since I met you, I am not afraid to die.
poets note:
I Wrote This Poem At My Best Friends Funeral.....
The Honor Guard Folds The Coffin Flag....
In The Background A lonely Bugle Plays Taps
They Walk To His Wife, Hand Her The Flag And Say........
On Behalf Of The President Of The United States
And With The Thanks Of A Grateful Nation
It Is With Deepest Regrets
That I present you With This Flag......
~ "THE THANKS OF A GRATEFUL NATION" ~
SOME WORDS ARE FILLED WITH HAPPINESS....
SOME CAN MAKE YOU CRY..
MOST ARE FILLED WITH GOOD MEANING...
SOME ARE JUST... OUTRIGHT LIES.....
WITH THE THANKS OF A GRATEFUL NATION,
THEY LAID MY FRIEND TO REST...
THE THANKS OF A GRATEFUL NATION?....
THEY SAID WE WERE THE BEST...
THEY FILLED OUR MINDS WITH FAIRY TALES.....
OF HOW THEY WERE SO PROUD..
NOW, AT THE AIRPORT.... I FACE AN ANGRY CROWD...
MY FRIEND DIED, NOT FOR ME..
BUT FOR THOSE WE LEFT BEHIND....
NOW IT SEEMS, ALL YOU WANT,
IS TO REMOVE US FROM YOUR MIND.
"DUTY..HONOR..GLORY" YOU SAID,
AS WE STUMBLED OFF TO WAR...
NOW I SEE, YOU JUST PRETEND...NOT TO SEE US ANYMORE...
WE FOUGHT AS SOLDIERS.... SURVIVED AS MEN...
CAME HOME AS HUMAN BEINGS.
YOU TURNED YOUR BACK....AND NOW WE KNOW....
IT DID'NT MEAN A THING....
WE FOUGHT FOR YOU,.WE DIED FOR YOU,
WE'LL NEVER BE THE SAME.
WE THOUGHT WE'D COME BACK HEROES,
YOU BROUGHT US HOME IN SHAME.
I TELL MY FRIEND....PLEASE DON'T FRET,
YOU DID'NT DIE IN VAIN....FOR AS LONG AS I ABLE....
I WONT LET THEM...FORGET..YOUR NAME...
I DEDICATE THIS TO ALL MY FRIENDS
THAT WILL NEVER SEE THEIR PARADE.
I PROMISE MY FRIENDS, I WONT EVER LET THEM FORGET..
NAM POET
On Memorial Day, I saw some news footage of visitors to the Vietnam Memorial. It showed a veteran sitting on a ledge with his head in his hands and he was crying his heart out, and then it showed an elderly lady reaching out and touching a name on the wall. For some reason it stuck in my mind and at two o’clock the morning of June 4, I got out of bed and wrote these words down on some scrap paper I found in the bedroom.
Thank God for giving these words to me.
MIXED EMOTIONS
I STARE AT THE WALL,
MIXED EMOTIONS ARISE;
MY MIND HEARS THEM CALL,
MY HEART FEELS THEIR CRIES.
SO MANY, SO YOUNG,
MY NAME SHOULD BE THERE;
I FEEL GUILT,( I WONDER IF THEY KNOW),
JUST HOW MUCH I CARE.
I SEE A MOTHER CRY,
SHE TOUCHES THE NAME OF HER SON;
I FEEL ANGER, ( I REMEMBER WHAT ),
OUR GOVERNMENT HAS DONE.
THEY SAY TIME HEALS EVERYTHING,
BUT FOR NOW, FOR ME, THAT ISN’T TRUE;
FOR TIME IS STILL MY ENEMY, (MY EMOTIONS SAY),
I SHOULD HAVE BEEN, "ONE OF YOU ".
TO GOD BE THE GLORY,
FROM A WAR SO UNJUST;
AND A PEACE TO THE SURVIVORS,
WHO IN GOD STILL TRUST.
KEN HENRY
JUNE 1995
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