Poetry Written By and For Veterans
Poetry Written By and For Veterans
Page Nine
WHEN THE SOLDIER CAME
(LITTLE BOY EYES)
By C. W. Bradshaw
(US Army active duty, 1967-1971)
I went to the Vietnam Vets Wall today
and I met a veteran . . .
LITTLE BOY EYES
A man looking at me through
LITTLE BOY EYES
The Wall was dark and cold,
the names were stark and sterile . . .
LITTLE BOY EYES
Cold autumn rain coming down.
Streams rolling down the wall
like streams of tears on a child's face.
LITTLE BOY EYES
Where did the little boy go when the soldier came?
The soldier that was now the man.
LITTLE BOY EYES
What about "the spirit of the bayonet"?
Close your ears, little boy.
LITTLE BOY EYES
And the things the soldier saw . . .
Could the little boy hide
LITTLE BOY EYES?
And what about the man who had to be the soldier?
Could he endure the stares of
LITTLE BOY EYES?
But perhaps the little boy didn't see him, and perhaps the little boy
didn't see what he saw, and perhaps the little boy didn't hear what
he heard, and perhaps the little boy never felt what he felt.
Perhaps the little boy was, somehow, protected by the soldier man
and perhaps innocence wasn't really lost. Or, perhaps the little
boy ceased to exist ... when the soldier came.
But still, I see . . .
LITTLE BOY EYES
Copyright 2000
Charles W. Bradshaw
Speaking For A Friend
Lord I'm praying, for a friend I know.
He's lost in this world, with no place to go.
His home was a jungle, in a land far away,
And his battles go on, day after day.
His friends say it's best if he'll just forget,
But the battles go on, in his mind they are set.
He does not know what the war was about,
But his country said go and he was sent out.
Lord would you please, hear my friends prayer.
Lord would you please, show him you care.
He'll listen to you and ask for your love.
And he'll take his orders, from you up above.
Lord I'm not very good, for speaking for others,
But someone must speak for all of my brothers.
Lord we'll put our lives in your command,
And we'll finally find peace, in your precious hands.
Lord I must confess that the prayer I've just said,
Was not for a friend, but for me instead.
But it is not wrong to pray for someone else,
So Lord this prayer's for them, as well as myself.
©
Ken Ferguson
Vietnam 67-68
17th Air Cav D Troop
Ken's Resting Place
Our Freedom -
Bought and paid for
Oh how I love the parades
On any given holiday
I watch ’Old Glory’ with the marching bands
Carried proudly along the way
“Oh say can you see
By the dawn’s early light
What so proudly we hailed
At the twilights last gleaming?”
When I hear our National Anthem
And I watch our flag go forward
I think of the servicemen and women
And the sacrifices they award
As I stand at attention
With my hand over my breast
I treasure my rights and freedoms
Thanks to all in military service
“Oh say does that star spangled banner yet wave
O’er the land of the free
And the home of the brave?”
When ‘Old Glory’ flutters by in the breeze
And the song is nearing its end
I look to the sky and thank my God
For making me an American
Our freedom is a gift paid for
My men and women-It’s true!
God Bless America
Especially, God Bless You.
Written by
Karan SU
;
daughter of a Navy man during the Korean Conflict;
wife of an Army man during Vietnam;
and mother of a daughter still in the Air Force
Table of Contents
Poetry, Page One
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Poetry, Page Two
Poetry, Page Three
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Poetry, Page Four
Poetry, Page Five
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Poetry, Page Six
Poetry, Page Seven
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Poetry, Page Eight
Poetry, Page Nine
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Poetry, Page Ten
~ Featured Poets ~
Gary Jacobson
Mike Subritzky
If you have an appropriate poem that you would like to contribute, please send it to
texastwister@texoma.net
You will be given proper credit, and a link to your site if you have one.
