THE FOLDED FLAG
I asked once when I was small
Why a folded flag graced Grandma's wall
Above a picture of a man I never knew
Surrounded by medals and patches too
She sighed and tears began to flow
I had a thought I would never know
Dad said to speak of it no more
For Grandpa had died in a terrible war
Pride in my service made me tall
As I touched Grandpa's name on the wall
I've seen a part of the world he knew
A privilege granted just a few
I served my country in a desert land
All too early I became a man
The years have passed one by one
And now at last I am twenty-one
Grandma gave me the greatest gift of all
The folded flag from on her wall
Surrounded by patches and medals too
Was the picture of a man only she and I knew