Russell G. Robison

GENERATIONS

It’s hard to speak of how it was
I heard my father say
I didn’t understand it then
I understand today

He saw Tarawa and Iwo
Fought at Okinawa too
He often sat in silence
Thinking of those times he knew

Sometimes after too much scotch
He’d get that certain look
And speak in very measured tones
With a voice that often shook

He spoke about the good times
His shipmates and the sea
Never spoke of all the battles
Always kept that part from me

But when I came home from the war
My eyes told him I knew
So we both sat drinking scotch
‘Cause there was nothing else to do