Richard D. Preston

MEMORIAL DAY – 2002

Memorial day,
Memorial night,
This is when old soldiers
fight the fight.

In honor of those
we shall never know.

For Those:

I remember the days of long ago
As off to a distant land we were flown
When dog tags and rifle were all we owned
‘Cause the seeds of war had been deeply sown
And young men were lost before there time
While protestors waved their anti-war signs.
That same instant,
In a foreign land,
young men died.
For those,
They would never know.

We endured the heat and the torrential rains
We fought, we bled, and we ignored the pain
Battled for high ground to give it up again
Fearing this hateful war would never end
But we fought nonetheless with all our might
Meeting death face to face in the late hours of night.
That same instant,
In silence we cried
because our Brothers died.
For those,
They would never know.

The years have come and the years have gone
And gone is gone for so very long
Our hearts still dance to youthful songs
And age has no meaning within our mind,
When we reflect back to hells own time.
Of a place where we needed
Neither reason nor rhyme

While in our hearts we burned their names
Knowing without them our lives would forever be changed
That somehow we would carry guilt’s burden of blame
Commit ourselves to bear with love the eternal flame
We watched as one by our Brothers died
In our arms or as we fought side by side
Away on the choppers they would fly
And that same instant,
Silent teardrops dripped from our eyes
For those,
The world, would never know.

That same instant
This same time
These same tears
Flow endlessly
For those,
Our Brothers;
We shall never know.