TO LIVE IN THE HEARTS
OF THOSE WE LEAVE BEHIND
IS NOT TO DIE










Early rise this memorial day
Kids in the parade
Grab video cam. Check battery
Would not want to forget.
The pride we feel when we see our kids
Marching tall in all the hoopla

Meanwhile, a shoulder touched
"It's me!" She has to remind again
As horror of thirty years ago
Has cost him a dream again
Walking tall as he headed off to 'Nam
Slinking back to home. Battered and torn.

Stop at the store for supplies
Charcoal to fire the stakes
Soda, beer and snacks today
Company on the way!
Oh, we'll have the best picnic!
Every year. It is our way!

Gnarled fingers pull him upward
He reaches for his leg
Plastic and metal, for the other
Was left at Normandy
Pain he feels everyday
And yet he strives the best he can.

The bug spray! Tanning lotion.
Don't want stings and burns to ruin
We planned so hard to make this time
A wonderful afternoon
Wait, are we forgetting something?
I hate when I feel we have!

Laying upon a shroud of silk
Red white and blue draped so clean
A widow thanks the Lord she had the years
With her soldier so many others denied
Thinking of sobbing wives back then
Hers returned but theirs had died.

"Daddy this is so much fun!
Why do we celebrate so?"
That is it, he thinks, that forgotten thing.
And it took innocence to want to know.
"My darling, thank you for the question
For now you and I will be clear to know."

Today we should take time to remember
The sacrifices of those who gave
As much as any man or woman could
So our freedom could be saved.
Free to enjoy a day of picnics sharing
With friends and family.

"Daddy, can we do one more thing?
I just think it would be a nice thing to do.
Why don't we take a moment to visit?
Some of these women and men
Thank them for what they did for us
They thought of us, I want them to know we thought of them!"

Written by DMS




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